Fire and Brimstone
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: What if Naruto was raised by a shinigami? And not just any shinigami, but Aizen Sousuke? Bleach X-over, Dark and smart Naruto, rated T for violence, and Naruxharem.
1. Beginnings

Is there really any evidence that _proves_ he's human?" a council member asked, looking at the infant Naruto in Sarutobi's arms.

Sarutobi glared at him.

"There's plenty, the fact that he's not growing fox ears and tails is a big one, as well as the fact that he's not grown to monstrous size and started attacking everyone." Another retorted.

"What did the summon bosses say in this respect, Sandaime-sama?" the only female council member in the room asked, also looking at the infant who was peacefully sleeping.

"They never came right out and said it, but it was implied that he was, in fact, quite human. He also had an old human/demon relations custom that he wanted to revive." Sarutobi answered, moving the infant into a more comfortable position.

"That old custom? I haven't heard of anyone wanting to revive it since my father's time." The first councilman commented, looking insightful.

"Whether or not the toad clan wishes to revive a custom with this child is not our concern, what we do with this child is." The female council member said, giving a stern look at the first man to have spoken.

"What should we do with him, after all, the villagers are not exactly inviting him into their homes with open arms." The second councilman asked, steeping his hands and resting his chin on them.

"An aquiantance of mine shall be returning within two days, I intend to let him raise the child. After all, I thought it appropriate that a child who will work closely with demons should be raised by one." Sarutobi responded.

"Who are the child's parents, do we know?" the woman asked.

Sarutobi sighed before answering. "I know who his parents are, but I was forced to promise not to tell anyone else until I told the child himself."

"This is unfortunate, but understandable. Very well, if there are no objections we shall go through with Sandaime-sama's plan to allow him to raise the child." The woman again spoke, closing the record book as she did so...


	2. Shikai and a New Team?

**I own nothing!**

Thirteen years have passed since the fall of the Yondaime, and the sealing of the Kyuubi. Konohagakure slowly recovered from the death and destruction, and the village was now its normal, calming, cheery place.

Calming...as of ten minutes ago.

"Naruto!" screamed a chunnin, chasing the hooligan. "You won't get away with this!"

"Get back here, you little brat!" shouted another, also in the chase.

"Sorry guys, but just 'cause you're jealous doesn't mean you can catch me!" shouted the hyperactive redhead, no longer blond, but having died it to look 'cool', like his idol, Renji Abarai, a lieutenant with whom he was fast friends.

Wheeling around,he displayed the well-known middle finger salute at his pursuers, before dissapearing in a blur of movement.

His outfit, which consisted of a dark shirt with a skull on it with the words: "You're next!" stitched upon the front, and torn black jeans, made him a dead stand out in the crowd, yet his speed made up for it easily

The chuunin duo came back to the ground level, after chasing the boy across the rooftops. They sprinted past a few fences...only for Naruto to reveal that he was hiding himself there as they missed him.

A grin lit his face.

"Heh, losers or what?!" crowed Naruto. "Hell, no one's good enough to find me! Heck, I'm invincible!"

"Oh, really?" A hand clamped down onto Naruto's shoulders, and the boy turned to see his mentor and father, Aizen, standing there, looking very amused.

"Oh, uh, dad!" Sputtered an embarassed Naruto, sheepishly scratching the back of his head, feeling like he had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"W-what a surprise to see you, said Naruto, desperately trying to search through his mind to find some excuse. And speaking of his mind, he didn't know he thought of ramen that much.

"Back to the academy," said Aizen, dragging a protesting Naruto along, "You have some cleaning up to do..

"Aw man!" Groaned the blond, crossing his arms-

"Then we can go to Soul Society."

At this, Naruto perked up immediately. "Really?! We can go there again?!"

The foster father chuckled as he adjusted the glasses upon his face, pushing them up ever so slightly with his free hand.

"But of course. I'm sure everyone would be delighted to see you again."

--

Once they had arrived back in their classroom at the Academy, Iruka, once again proved why every single student hated teachers, by punishing the entire class for one student's actions.

Namely, he forced them all to do a Transformation Test, causing all students to groan as they got to the front of the class in an "orderly" line, whilst Aizen stood at the back of the class, watching with the practiced interest of a parent.

"This is your fault, sword boy," said Ino, referring the wide array of swords Naruto often carried around with him.

"...Ino, look, Sasuke's going to make out with Sakura," replied Naruto boredly.

"What!? Where?! How dare she?! How dare he?!" Ino started screeching.

"Ino!" barked Iruka. "Detention afterschool!"

"Damn you..." muttered Ino, directing her comment at both Iruka and Naruto.

"This is so troublesome..." grumbled the lazy Shikamaru.

"Naruto, your turn!" commanded Iruka.

Naruto wondered about whether Iruka should be a military instructor, the way he barked his orders. He cracked a grin at the thought of Iruka wearing khaki and a helmet, shouting: "Drop and give me twenty!"

"Naruto, I said it's your turn!"

Aizen restrained a chuckle as he saw his son's daydream, whilst Naruto hurriedly snapped to attention.

"What? Oh yeah, yeah..."

He made the seals.

"HENGE!"

There was suddenly a great cloud of smoke, that didn't dissipate.

"Holy..." '_Please don't let him explode, please don't let him explode!'_prayed Iruka.

The smoke began to clear away...to reveal a very attractive and very naked blonde girl, who seductively blew a kiss at Iruka.

"Gah!" cried Iruka, blood dripping from his nose, as he flew backwards into his own desk, crashing there with and explosive thud.

The girl laughed before she poofed away, to reveal a smiling Naruto.

"Iruka-sensei, I didn't know you were a pervert! What kind of example are you setting for the children?!"

Aizen winced as Iruka smacked Naruto over the head.

"Stop making stupid techniques!"

--

Naruto was jumping for joy as Aizen opened the portal to Soul Society, a fact that did no go unnoticed by his father.

"Oh boy! I can't wait to see Momo-chan and Rukia-san again!"

Aizen restrained a small smile at that, as he knew she would be MORE than happy so see Naruto.

Naruto laughed as the captain ruffled his unruly hair.

"Here, I have a gift for you...

--

(Later)

They arrived in the courtyard, and Naruto's eyes widened as he nearly ran smack into her, forcing him to skid to a halt abruptly, as did she.

But then, wide smiles lit their young faces.

"MOMO-CHAN!"

"NARUTO-KUN!"

The moment they saw each other, this simultaneous cry pierced the courtyard, and they each grabbed each other in a hug-

Before abruptly releasing each other, their faces a deep crimson.

Naruto recovered himself first, speaking to his fellow teen. "Hey, guess what?"

Hinamori tilted her head to one side in curiosity. "What?"

"THIS!" Crowed Naruto, as he put his hands into a cross seal.

"Kage bunshin!"

A poof of smoke obscured him, and when it cleared, Momo let out a small gasp as five perfect copies of the goth redhead stood before her, grinning brightly.

She smiled brightly as well. "WOW! You can make more than one now!"

After seeking a forbidden scroll, Naruto had proceeded to learn this Jutsu, along with several others, in hopes of passing the genin exam, which was tomorrow, as told by Mizuki.

However, Aizen then arrived, revealing that Mizuki had lied, and then the treacherous teacher had suddenly arrived.

He had then revealed that Naruto was the container of the Kyuubi- well, actually he said that it had been sealed in Naruto, thus making Naruto the Kyuubi. Aizen then took a giant shuriken to the back for Naruto-

Before ripping it out, and simply flinging it right back, with such speed that the end result being Mizuki losing his head.

Literally.

But that was in the past, and this was the present.

Aizen hated to interrupt them, he really did, but they were going to be late for class at this rate.

Nudging each of them towards the academy, he sent them on their way.

"Good luck to both of you today."

Naruto flashed his father the peace sign. "Same to you pop!"

Hinamori gave a small bow. "Hai, Aizen-sama!"

Today, the academy students were going through their shikai examinations. Naruto, being second-last in the register, was about to finish his test, and was focusing heavily, as everyone looked on in interest for the human boy.

Hinamori was up next.

Raising her blade up, she closed her eyes, a pink aura steaming about her moments later.

Her eyes snapped open a fraction of a blink later, and she uttered two words:

"SNAP:TOBUIME!"

With a rushing swell of pink, the aura traveled up her zanpaktou, leaving it changed, the residual spiritual pressure roared into the sky, before exploding in a concord of colors.

Steam rose from her weapon, as she drew in a labored breath, the spiked sections of it glistening in the light of the sun.

The instructor raised a hand.

"Hinamori Momo: Pass!"

Releasing her shikai, the now graduated student sheathed her blade-

Then did a little victory dance, before skipping back to the line, flashing Naruto the peace sign as she did so.

"How was that?"

Yet again, a bright smile lit his face. "Awesome!"

Looking at a clipboard, the instructor called Naruto up to the pedestal.

Breathing out slowly, Naruto ascended the steps, feeling small, despite the fact that he was 5"8.

Pausing in the middle, he drew two blades, from the sheathes strapped to his hips.

A metallic rasping sound rasped out as he drew them, before placing them in an x before his face.

Yet unlike the others, he held two blades, one his original, the other the gift from his father.

They _appeared _to be just plain katana's but he was sure...

"Come on come...on...

That they were special.

Closing his eyes, he searched about his senses, ignoring the foul slumbering might of the fox, bypassing his own chakra network, down, down, down, until...

There!

His mind grasped at something slippery, an unknown force that he knew to look for, as the instructor had directed..

This had to be the blades' power source, as he knew not what else to call it.

Focusing, he tried to grab it, but it shied away from his mental grasp, sliding out of his fingers, difficult to capture, eluding him with annoying ease.

Scowling, he concentrated with all his might, throwing up mental barriers and walls, to prevent the power from escaping him, as he chased it down the corridors of his mind, with relentless pursuit and vigilance.

"Come on, come on...

The blade's began to glow, one a dark orange, the other a deep vibrant pink.

Finally, with a supreme effort, his mind latched onto the alien presence, holding it firmly in his grasp, as it wriggled to get free, his mind squeezed it tighter, until a loud shattering noise was heard in his head.

He nearly suffocated in the rush of power that came with it.

Suddenly, amidst murmurs of discontent, his eyes snapped open, newfound knowledge coursing through him, his eyes widening with the knowledge-

He knew their name's!

Holding the first up, he called it:

"SCATTER: SENBONZAKURA!"

Then the next, more difficult than the last:

"BITE: ZORRO!"

Immediately, the left blade morphed in his hand, the hilt turning violet, its guard becoming a perfect square, and its actual blade-

Fragmenting into millions of cherry blossoms, that now danced about Naruto, almost as if to protect him.

His eyes widened as they brush against him, tickling his nose, making him giggle, as a friendly presence spoke to him, female, high pitched in a sense.

Meanwhile, his right weapon molded itself onto his arm, its simple steel coloring a bright orange, easily inking into his hand-

Until that arm was covered in armor, much like that of a knight-

With the exception being that at the end, there was a fox head, its jaws wide open-

And a blade of pure heat, thin and pure, stretching from its gaping jaws, the purest red of colors.

Curious, he put a tiny bit of chakra into the fire-

And the blade grew several inches.

A wicked smile tugged the corners of Naruto's face, as two voices, one male, the other female, were heard in his head.

_My name is Senbonzakura. I will be thy protector, now and forevermore..._

_And I am Zorro, thy steadfast servant._

Naruto was all smiles as he watched the petals reform into his new blade, whilst Zorro reformed into a basic katana, now he slid both released blades, back into their sheathes.

Aizen clapped his hands jovially, and gave Naruto a pat on the back, whilst many murmurs ran through the assembled captians.

"Well done my son, well done."

Naruto laughed, then stiffened as none other than Renji Abarai, lieutenant to Byakuya Kuchiki, strode out of the crowd, smiling warmly.

"So, you have TWO shikai, huh? That's pretty impressive. Only Ukitake-san and Kyōraku-san can do that!"

Naruto suddenly became withdrawn now, and looked down, shy as Hinata.

"Thanks...

Renji chortled to himself, mistaking Naruto's shy behavior for sadness.

"Hey! Why so down?"

Smirking, an idea came to his fellow redhead, as he gently ruffled the boy's hair.

"Do you know that shikai of yours, its the same as a captain Kuchiki's?"

At this, Naruto's eyes lit up. "Captain Kuchiki?! But he's nobility!"

Renji smirked as Naruto looked at Senbonzakura. "Well, I guess you don't have to be of royal blood to have a shikai like that."

Then the last contestant was called up, and everyone turned to see:

"Presenting, Kuchiki Rukia!"

A young girl of about fifteen, around the 5'4 mark stepped upon the pedestal, her violet eyes reflecting uncertainty, her lower lip trembling nervously, as she drew her zanpaktou.

Whispers rushed through the crowd, and she closed her eyes against it.

_'Focus..._

Dark raven hair began to flow, as steam misted about her, and much to everyone's surprise-

She began to dance, running her hand over her blade, lost in the graceful movements..

--

(Mindscape)

Kuchiki Rukia's soft midnight-blue eyes gazed in wonder at the beautiful, untainted world around her. There was a lake, and there was a sky—one of night... dark and stimulating, but oh-so-calm, for there was not a breath of wind in this intimate environment.

Her eyes drifted shut as she inhaled the cool night air. This, this utter perfection, was her dream, truly. As she exhaled, her breath showed in a translucent cloud of white, but there was no breeze, at all. She twirled her hands in peculiar patterns, twisting and rotating her wrists.

Her movements became more exaggerated as she continued, and soon she was sweeping her arms in splendid circles, tilting her head and swaying her entire upper body to the tuneless melody of her mind.

She began to dance, her earlier challenge forgotten, and as she slid her feet over the water, a sleek trail of ripples trembled in wake, expanding and broadening onto the infinity of the pure, clear lake. Her arms swept the air in wonderful patterns of swirls and shapes, as she traced every possible motif she could imagine.

And then, as she danced her silent dance... a tune began to play.

It emerged, so subtly, at first only a quiet humming that was barely audible. It filled her entire body, warming her blood. Slowly, the soft, bittersweet melody rose in a slow crescendo, accompanied by the gentle sound of air rushing against cloth. Rukia opened her eyes, and turned to where the gentle, sweet song was emanating from.

In the very center of the moon, something stirred, and began to magnify, emerging from the heart of the moon. Rukia's eyes were wide as she looked on in pure wonder; a white form, closely resembling a swan, drifted towards her. The figure glided forwards on a tapered piece of white silk, and as it sailed nearer, it began to resemble more and more of a human shape.

A woman's shape...

--

Naruto looked on as she fluidly danced, the steam gradually misting into a white aura that surrounded her body, in a perfect silhouette.

"Who is she?" Asked Naruto, enraptured by the beauty of her movements.

Renji answered."Kuchiki Rukia, sister of Byakua Kuchiki."

The words escaped the teen's lips before he even realized what he was saying.

"She's beautiful...

--

The woman in white skimmed down her silk road, descending from the heavens. Everything about her profile—her face, her clothes, her every curve and movement—was perfect. She had no vertices... Everything of her was a smooth, languid grace, like she had been painted with one long, fluid brush stroke.

Her skin, and her hair, and her silken dress, were all pure and untainted white. She gently brushed the surface of the water as she landed, and then pushed up again, rising into the air. A single ripple materialized from where she touched the water, and ice began to form, creeping outwards as the ripple.

And then, she danced. Suspended in the air by some unknown force, she twirled and arched with the graceful fluidity of a cat, the beauty of a swan, and the cool, passionate serenity of the moon.

Like a goddess, like falling snow.

She finally twirled down to the water surface, landing gently on both feet. The crisp frost immediately appeared and crept outwards, in a much wider radius than before. Rukia instinctively took two hasty steps backwards, avoiding the ice spider-webbing towards her. It stopped, just before her foot.

Her eyes snapped up again to meet those of that ethereal goddess's. Even her irises and her pupils were a cold, silvery white.

"Rukia..." Her voice was soft, yet echoed a great divinity. Rukia swallowed hard, as the woman smiled and extended a slender hand. "Come dance with me?"

"Are you... my...?" The question died as she felt her breath catch in her throat. That otherworldly deity flew forwards in an elegant leap, landing directly in front of Rukia.

Your _heart_... is _content_." Her mystical voice echoed and increased in volumes on certain words. Rukia backed up a step, and felt herself slip slightly on the newly-formed ice. She steadied herself, and then felt the grip on her shoulder tighten. A creeping chill crept along her shoulder and down her arm.

"_Sode no Shirayuki._" The icy voice rolled with power next to her. Those ivory eyes caught hers and flashed a smile of vivacity. "Sleeve of White Snow. This is my true form."

Rukia gasped and snapped her head around to her materialized Zanpaktou. The snowy figure grinned, an expression unlikely to be found on a figure of such deathly pale beauty, and snatched up Rukia's hand. They soared upwards, towards the vast whiteness of the moon.

"For you to be able to dance with me, and paint a shadow of my true form..." The ice-goddess slowed, gazing at her with a fierce intensity as she spoke her next words.

"You are ready. I will teach you... the first dance.

--

Rukia felt more than saw the colors bleed back into the world around her, as she breathed back into reality; the crowd resumed its soft murmurs of worry, whilst her hair fluttered with the cool summer's breeze that came by.

And Rukia's arm moved with an instinctive reflex, to parry an harsh blow aimed in her direction.

_**... Speak my name, and you will defeat your enemy...**_

_Okay..._

"_Mai..."_

_**... Speak my name, and we shall dance together once more...**_

"_Sode no Shirayuki!_"

She closed her eyes, drawing on her Zanpaktou's power.

_Concentrate, concentrate!_

"_Some no Mai... Tski Shiro!"_ her words ripped past her throat, and she felt the power pouring out through her hands, and along her blade, as if it were a part of her.

She followed through with her steps, still with her eyes closed, swishing her blade through the air.

A perfect white circle appeared on the ground, and began to freeze over, much to the shock of everyone.

The circle began to freeze over the portion of the pedestal-

And then, a glorious white pillar of pure ice shot up from the ground, transcending to the heavens; swallowing up all within it obliterating all inside to tiny shards of ice.

"Kuchiki Rukia: Pass!"

Naruto yawned sleepily, as the crowd dispersed-

But not before the girl turned in his direction.

For a moment, blue met violet, as she stared at him from afar.

Smiling meekly, he raised a hand in greeting-

Then a passerby blocked him from view, and when she looked again, they mysterious redhead prodigy was gone.

As was Aizen.

--

Naruto supressed another yawn as he stepped out of the portal, with Aizen right behind him, sealing the dark hole closed with a simple wave of his hand.

The redhead/blond was still amazed that it was already night here now.

Making sure no one was looking, Aizen took the hand of his son, and silently shunpoed forward-

--

Arriving at the large three story home he had 'aquired' in this village

And much to their surprise, waiting for them at the doorstep-

Was Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei?" Yawned Naruto, as he saw his teacher sitting there.

"Hey...Naruto, come over here," called Iruka, and he waited for Naruto to approach. "I want to give you something. Close your eyes."

Naruto did so, feeling something like his goggles being pulled off his head and something placed there.

Aizen smiled as he realized what Iruka was doing.

_'Good for you Naruto.'_

"Okay, open."

Naruto opened his eyes, to see Iruka without his forehead protector.

"Huh?" Where's your-

He immediately raised his hand to his brow, feeling the metal of the Konoha headband.

His eyes went wide. "Does this mean-

"Congratulations!" said Iruka, giving him a thumbs-up. "You graduate! I'm supposed to give you a really boring and long lecture at this point, but screw that, let's get some ramen!"

He gave Aizen a glance. "Oh, my apologies, your welcome to come along too!"

The shinigami sighed, as he saw the eager expression on Naruto's face.

"I'm afraid I must decline your offer."

"AW! But, dad- Whined Naruto,

Before he was cut off by another shake of his father's head.

"Sorry, but I have some work to do, you can tell me about it when you get home."

Iruka clapped a hand over Naruto's mouth as the strawberry blond was about to protest again, knowing that Aizen would want his son to enjoy his gradutation.

"Come on Naruto, Ichiraku won't stay open forever!"

--

Once they were out of sight, Aizen walked up the doorstep, and opened the door-

Or would have-

Had he not sensed a familiar spirtual pressure.

Surprised, he turned round-

And found himself face to face with with none other than Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Yes, what is it?"

The arrogant man shook his head, his tone cold. "This is a dangerous game you're playing here Aizen."

Shaking his head, the captain turned to fully face his fellow captain. "What are you getting at?"

Byakuya looked in the direction in which Naruto had gone. "Raising the boy as if he were your own son, it-

Pushing his glasses up, the smile neve left his face as he cut off the noble. "It infuriates you, doesn't it?"

"Tell that lowlife to stay away from Rukia." Came the simple response.

Aizen arched an eyebrow. "What Naruto decides is not a matter in which I do not intend to interfere."

Then, without another word, he turned the handle, and slammed the door behind him.

--

Since Naruto's class was graduating, there was no need for them to be in the Academy the entire day. As it were, their teams would be told to them in the late morning, they could do things like sleep in, or in Naruto's case...

--

"Eh? Naruto, what are you doing here? This is for people who passed," said Shikamaru from behind him.

"Look at the headband," said Naruto cheerfully, before he flashed his middle finger at the lazy Nara, looking away a second later, to pat his swords calmly, already wishing he was back in Soul Society, where people actually _understood _him.

"Troublesome..."

Suddenly, a troop of girls flew through the door, suddenly surrounding Naruto's desk...oh wait, it was Sasuke's desk to them.

He growled, tempted to draw his blad and cut them apart right now.

Bloody fangirls.

They wouldn't take notice of Naruto unless they thought of him in yaoi scenes with Sasuke.

Naruto shuddered at the very thought, and every other straight male in the class did so, sensing the horror of yaoi scenes.

And the fan-girls were bickering...

"I'll sit next to Sasuke-kun!"

"No I will!"

"I will!"

"Tramp!"

"Bitch!"

"Cow!"

"Ugly wh-"

Naruto did his best to keep his yap shut, but eventually, it drove him crazy, and with a roar, he slapped his palms upon the desk, with a loud clap!

"For the love of Kami, how about the lot of you rearrange this phrase and apply it to yourselves: "UP... SHUT"!" screamed Naruto.

Immediately, they turned on him

"You bas- eh? What's up with the swords, goth boy?" said Ino. "You should stick with...the black shirt," she said, poking the dark fabric on his arm.

"Hey, stop that," complained Naruto, annoyed with the...poking.

"But you look good," protested Ino. "I could just imagine you with-

Like a damn bursting, Naruto drew Senbonzakura with a flash of white, hissing its release command.

"Scatter!"

The fangirls suddenly stopped with the dreamy looks in their eyes and gasped as a wall of pink petals suddenly danced about Naruto, scratching and tearing at his desk with a small hiss.

And even more strangely enough,

They all shouted simultaneously:

"KAWAI!"

Naruto shook his head as he sat back down, drawing his blade back into a solid state.

Creepy...

Yet her perked up, arching a red eyebrow as teams were called

"And Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto, Sakura Haruno, and Uchiha Sasuke."

"No!" shouted Sakura, standing up. "Iruka-sensei, why do Sasuke-kun and me have to be held back because of this stupid goth geek Naruto? He didn't even-URK!"

Sakura cried out in surprise, as Naruto suddenly reached across the row, and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck, his eyes glinting dangerously, before he whispered into her ear. "You had better watch your mouth little missy, unless you want me to rip out your tongue!"

This all happened so fast, in less than the blink of an eye, that no one saw a thing, as Naruto dropped the whiny fangirl almost as soon as he picked her up.

Thus, Sakura was left in a panicked state, shivering as she held the spot upon her throat, the faintes outline of a hand seen there.

Unaware of the brutality that had taken place, Iruka grinned inwardly, before stating: "Well, Sakura, Naruto was able to learn a jounin-level technique in under an hour, and defeated a renegade ninja, all yesterday, and I decided he was more than qualified to be a Genin. So, really, I hope you and Sasuke aren't holding Naruto back."

Naruto shot Sakura a wicked grin. "You hear that pinkie? Don't slow me down or-

He made a cut-throat action with his hand across his throat, and she shuddered again in fear.

The class sat silent for a full thirty seconds, setting a record never seen before in the Academy.

'_The hell?' _thought Sasuke, as he sized up his teammate. '_The dead-last...? Hmm...I'll see how strong he actually is...'_

_--_

_(After class)_

"Iruka-sensei?"

The jonin looked up from his papers, as Naruto stood before his desk, looking none too happy, now that he knew who his temmates were.

"Yes?"

"Can I be on a different team?"

The teacher shook his head sadly. "Sorry, but there's no one else for you too-

A voice interrupted him. "I beg to differ."

Naruto whirled around, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Dad?"

There, in the frame of the doorway, stood Aizen-

With Momo, and Rukia standing in front of him-

Leaf headbands securely fastened around their left arms.


	3. The Beginning of Greatness!

**This is just a lil somethin till i get inspiration for the next chapter!**

Naruto felt his jaw fall upon the floor as the two girls descended the steps, Momo smiling brightly, whilst Rukia just wore a look of annoyance upon her face.

"No way!"

"Way." Chuckled Aizen, as he handed Iruka a sheet of paper.

Amidst the Jonin's startled gasp, Aizen explained the situation.

"In accordance with the wishes of the Hokage, I have been allowed to form a team of my own, Team Zero, and have been granted Jonin."

Smiling, he ruffled Momo's and then Rukia's jet black hair.

"And as you can see, here are our first and second members, we just need a third genin-

"ME! I VOLUNTEER!" Naruto's loud shout was heard halfway across Konoha.

Aizen laughed, as he gave patted his eager son on the back.

"And here he is."

"THIS IS SO AWESOME!" Cried Momo, as she and Naruto suddenly went into a victory dance, goofily spinning about as they held hands.

The shinigami's brown eyes sparkled with warmth.

"And here he is."

"So do we have a mission or what?" Quipped Rukia, business as usual, anxious to get things underway, her somberness causing Naruto and Momo to break apart, heated blushes upon their faces once again.

From the folds of his white robe, Aizen drew another paper.

"I'm glad you asked...

And so, the adventures of Squad Zero began...


	4. Clash! The Battle of the Zanpaktou!

(Later)

Naruto knew that puddle wasn't ordinary.

He could feel two chakra signatures within it, which suggested one thing.

An ambush.

He looked to his father, who just nodded once.

"It's all yours."

The redhead exchanged a nod with Rukia, then Momo, just as the two demon brothers burst out of hiding, roaring forward in an incredible burst of speed

They never reached their target, as suddenly, the three teens were upon them, blocking their path.

"MOVE!" Hissed one, and the other remained silent as Naruto held up Senbonzakura, a grin upon his face.

"I have a better idea-

"SCATTER!" he cried Naruto, as theblade seperated into thousands of petals, leaving the two brothers to laugh-

Until, with a silent whoosh, the blossomes descended down upon them, shredding and tearing at the demon brothers, who screamed in pain, as their muscles were severed, leaving their bodies to sag to the ground, unable to move-

As the onslaught marched on.

Leapfrogging off Naruto's back, Rukia sprang into the air, fluidly going into her first dance, her Zanpaktou and its white sleeve a blur of motion.

"TSUKI SHIRO!"

The two gasped as ice sprang up around them in a semicircle, then abruptly captured them in its frozen embrace, a mighty pillar stretching high into the heavens.

Before it could crack and release them, Naruto and Momo moved in, calling the name's for their shikai's.

"BITE-

"SNAP-

Side by side, the momentarily clasped hands, so as to better channel their Kidou, looking straight ahead, their cheeks brushing, their bodies inches from the others-

"ZORRO/TOBUIME!"

With an exploxive blast, their shikai formed, Zorro spouting a massive jet of flame from its fanged maw, whilst Tobuime thrust a ball of explosive kidou into the mix, from her many spikes, engulfing the unfortunate brothers further in the blaze, and cooking them to a crisp.

In the end, there was nothing but ashes.

When the smoke cleared, it revealed the three out of breath teens, Rukia leaning heavily on Naruto's right shoulder, whilst Momo leaned on his left, her hand still in his the two girls visibly exhausted, whilst Naruto still seemed to have some juice left, standing tall, as he sucked in a ragged gasp.

Aizen snapped a picture of the three, thus preserving the moment, before tucking the camera away.

Only then did he turn to Tazuna, who picked his jaw up off the floor moments later.

"Was that acceptable, Tazuna-san?"

The bridge builder managed a nod. "That was amazing!"

---

(Later)

Aizen suddenly stopped now, drawing an odd look from Naruto, as everyone else stopped as well.

"Dad?"

The captain ignored him as he calmly drew his blade, still looking straight ahead, yet he knew they were being followed.

"Show yourself."

The sound of clapping was heard, followed by a man's voice.

"I'm impressed you found me."

Momo looked left, then right, but saw no one, confusion etcched into her face as a result.

"Who's there-

"DOWN!" Shouted Naruto, as he tackled her to the ground, whilst Rukia dropped flat of her own accord-

Just as the blade whizzed overhead, slicing the knot that held her hair together, allowing it to fall down across her shoulders.

With a loud thunk, it embedded itself into a tree, a man standing atop it moments later.

"Zabuza Momochi. What brings you here?" Inquired Aizen, speaking casually, as if to an old friend.

Naruto was aware of the missing nin replying-

But the blonde was not focused on that.

His last minute tackle HAD saved Hinamori, however-

when he had knocked her to the ground, she had gotten tangled up in him.

End result, he lay over her, his hands holding down her arms, her legs crisscrossed in his-

And his lips perilously close to hers.

Their eyes went wide with shock/surprise.

For a moment, nothing happened, then with a strangled squeak, they each sprang, sporting a deep vibrant crimson blush as they looked away from the other.

Aizen chuckled as he continued his previously unheard conversation with Zabuza, now holding his zanpaktou before him in the traditional stance.

"Well then, I'm sorry, but you'll have to go through me first."

Recovering himself, Naruto was quick to pipe up.

"Yeah, and me too!"

"Aw how touching, a naive father and son working together." Spat Zabuza sarcastically as he rolled his eyes.

THIS drew Momo out of her daze, as insulting Aizen, especially right before here eyes-

Was NOT a wise move.

Zabuza's eyes narrowed as she suddenly slapped one plam outward, anger twisting her features into a dark scowl.

"Hadou 33: Soukitsoi!" **(Blue fire crash down)**

**(Insert dramatic music!)  
**

Leaping off the tree, and pulling his blade out of the bark, Zabuza sprang away from the blast-

Which incinerated the wood, mere moments after his hasty escape.

With a loud scream, ignoring the shouts to wait, from Naruto and Rukia, Hinamori charged at him, and sparks flew up in the air as her blade met his.

Zabuza laughed as she strained against him, even the power of her shikai not enough to overcome his monstrous strength.

"Was that-

The poor girl doubled over as his booted heel lashed out and caught her in the gut, knocking the air out of her, as she doubled over in pain, Tobuime falling from her grasp.

-Your best?"

As the demonic man raised his giant zanbato high, ready to lop her head off, Naruto cursed and drew his zanpaktou, seeing no choice, other than to assist her.

"Damn it! Rukia, lets go!"

She nodded once, then sprang after him as she charged in, calling the names of their shikai, all at once, as Momo got to her feet, grabbing her blade and joining the fray.

"Chire **(Scatter)**: Sebonzakura!"

"Dance: TSUKI SHIRO!"

"Snap:Tobuime!"

And thus the battle began.

Zabuza just smiled behind his bandages, as the trio of attacks roared towards him pink mixing with white, and ready to shred him apart-

Instead, smilining he was now bringing his blade up and about.

The three teens gasped as he did something most unexpected, his giant blade morphing in his hands as he spoke, until it resembled a giant trident.

"Rage across the heavens and sea: Nejibana!"

Moments later, with a flick of his wrist, a wall of water smacked them and their three attacks aside, as if they were nothing-

Or would have, had Naruto not redirected Senbonzakura at the very last second.

With an explosion of light, the three were thrown upon the ground, smacking hard against their backs, before leaping back up again.

Naruto scowled as the blossoms danced about him.

"How the hell do you have a zanpaktou?!"

Zabuza laughed, as he twirled it about, before slamming it down upon the ground where Naruto had been a moment before, forcing the blond to spring back, lest he be cleaved in two.

"Same as you kid, I made it with my soul."

Momo held her head in pain, and Rukia hissed out in surprised as she saw the blood leaking between the girl's fingers.

"Momo!"

Momentarily distracted, Naruto looked over his shoulder-

And nearly lost his life as a result.

The voice of Zorro in his head, as well as Senbonzakura, was the only warning he got.

"Bite:Zorro!"

The jet of flame from the foxe's mouth was just enough to lessen the high pressured water, thus sparing Naruto's life.

But, mighty though the flame was, the water was stronger, and Naruto bit his lip to quell the pain as the trident crashed down upon his left arm, nearly breaking it with the sheer might of its swing.

Zabuza laughed as the redhead stood his ground, refusing to give an inch.

"Hmmph. You got guts, I'll give you that-

"Then allow me to show you yours." Came the ever calm voice of Aizen-

From behind him, already swinging his Kyōka Suigetsu' at the opening the missing nin had left-

Namely his own.

Zabuza's eyes widened, and his free had began to go through seals.

_'This'll stop him..._

Blood flew through the air....


	5. Teamwork! Turn the Tide Rukia!

Liquid dripped upon the ground, in a steady patter.

In the shadow's, it looked like blood from Zabuza's left hand, which held tight to Aizen's zanpaktou, crimson fluid leaking from his fingertips.

The taichou shook his head, in sympathy.

"Yield, Zabuza Momochi, and I will let you live."

Said missing nin snorted in contempt-

And fell to the ground, his blood turning to water.

Then the REAL Momochi came tearing out of the mist, swinging Nejibana like a demon

"In your dreams!"

He swung down, and much to the surprise of everyone-

Cut through air, as Aizen reappeared behind him, his blade shimmering softly, as he held it to the man's neck.

He whispered the words of release.

"Shatter."

And was roughly in the chest, as ANOTHER Zabuza attacked, this one from behind, whilst the other fell into a puddle again.

Aizen appeared to have left himself wide open, as the concussive kick carried him back into a pool of water, his body falling heavily, submerged in the serene liquid.

As he fell, Zabuza sneered and went through a seal.

"Hidden Mist Jutsu."

Moments later, Aizen's head broke the surface, his glassess still miracuosly upon his face, even though the rest of him was soaked, water beading on his brow, and then down his face.

He waved to his team-

Everyone let out a simultaneous gasp, first of relief-

Then of horror, as Zabuza appeared behind Aizen, already going through seals, sneering behind his his facial wrappings.

"Fool! Water style: Water prison justu!"

Naruto looked on in horror as a dome of water sprang up around Aizen, who wisely slapped a rebreather onto his face, just as he was encased in the dome of water, entrapping the 5th squad captain in its grip.

Zabuza's right hand penetrated the dome, rendering Aizen immobile, and thus sustaining the jutsu.

Making a one handed seal, a water clone sprang up before him, holding an exact duplicate of Nejibana.

"What now brats?" Taunted the real Zaubza

"Still think you can win?" Echoed the bunshin.

Time seemed to stand still.

Naruto staggered to his feet.

Momo and Rukia followed suit-

But he held up a hand and shook his head towards Hinamori.

"No, Momo. protect Tazuna-san."

Desperate to help Aizen as well, Momo shook her head insitently.

"No! I'm going-

"HINAMORI MOMO, I SAID STAY PUT!" Hissed Naruto, using her full name, whirling upon, her, rage flickering his eyes red for a moment, before they returned to blue, his teeth gritted tightly against the frustration welling up in him as he spoke again, his words kinder, but still blatantly clear:

"Stop obsessing over my dad's safety, he'll be fine without your help, a I'm the best at close combat, so we've got nothing to worry about."

He did not want her help...

Wincing, she looked away, trying her best to disregard his words, suppressing a snifle, as tears welled in her eyes, both from her helplessness, and his harsh words.

Meekly, she moved to stand before Tazuna, reluctantly taking up guard duty.

"G-Go then...

Rukia looked to the two, and sighed, her zanpaktou now slung over her right shoulder, as she walked beside a somber Naruto, who strode towards Zabuza, the 5'8 teen doing his best to stand tall, despite the fact that the man before him was practically a giant in his own right, easily towering over both him and Rukia.

He mumbled to her, under his breath.

"I'll keep him busy, but you had better not miss, Rukia."

"Just don't get yourself killed, baka." Came her quick reply, before they were within earshot.

The water clone spun Nejibana mencacingly, then slammed it down into the earth, a geyser of water shooting up behind him as a result.

"Okay chibi's, bring it!"

The two exchanged a look, and Naruto raised Senbonzakura up, as Rukia began an inaudible cantation.

"Chire: Senbonzakura!"

As if on cue, the blade scattered into a colorful display, the blossosms surrounding Naruto in a small circle for protection, billowing about his shoulders, as if to rest there

Again, he held out Zorro, which was still one with his arm, and a small jet of flame erupted from its mouth, scorching away the mist, and giving everyone a clear view of what was about to happen.

Eyes narrowing Naruto focused intensely, willing the flames to take shape, into the image he desired.

Then he spoke the second command, one that had taken HOURS upon endless hours to perfect.

"Scorch your flames into his mind: Zorro."

WHOOSH!

Naruto litterally turned up the heat, as yellow orange flames erupted from its mout, swirling about fiercely-

Until he breathed out, and in response, they retracted, forming a thin blade of the purest red light, extending from Zorro's mouth, and humming softly as Naruto waved it about, cutting deep furrows in the ground, whilst Zabuza just stared at him-

"NOW!" He cried, and stepped to the left-

"Bakudo 4: Crawling rope!"

The bunshin snarled as the yellow kidou crawled around his legs, binding him in place, as Naruto let upon him, his lightsaber-like **(Lol) **blade a so intense, that the bunshin Zabuza had to coat his trident in chakra, just to keep the crudimentary copy from breaking.

Yet Naruto's petals shredded him to puddlely oblivion moments later.

Zabuza made a single hand seal. "Mass water clone replication!"

A hundred copies sprang up, and Naruto let loose a profane curse, before calling for aid, just as they leapt upon him, pushing his evasvive abilities to their max, as he bobbed and weaved amongs the watery men, their zanpaktou's, an odd combination of released and unreleased, trident and massive zanbato, all intent on lopping off his head.

"RUKIA!"

Nodding, she hurriedly went into another incantation, holding two fingers up before her face:

"You who is crowned with the name of a man, wearing a mask of blood and flesh, flying on 10,000 wings-

Aizen smiled behind his breather, pleasantly surprised for once in his life.

_'A binding spell of that level? It would seem that she has been spying on Naruto's kidou practice..._

"BACK OFF!" Roared Naruto as he whirled about, slashing another clone in two, the doppleganger falling in a puddle before his feet-

"With thunder's carriage and an empty spinning wheel-

Light shone in her raised digits-

-Break the light into six pieces-

Naruto spat out blodd as two unbound clones, drove their zanpkatou into his, back then his senbonzakura screamed upon them, shrieking aloud for the pain that they had caused her master, tearing them back into watery, motionless puddles.

Momo gaped as Rukia started what sounded like a _second _incantation, perfectly overlaid atop the first.

"Two incantations?"

"Carve a twin lotus on a wall of pale flames-

The Kuchiki closed her eyes in concentration, as with a roar, Naruto flamed another clone out of existence, lopping it in two, straight across the middle.

"RUKIA, I'M GETTING MY ASS HANDED TO ME! MOVE IT!"

-And await the blazing fires to reach the distant heavens.

Time seemed to slow, as the remainder of the clones, fifty strong in number, all sprang upon Naruto at once, leaping high through the air, to come down at him, whilst he was engaged with several more below.

Yet now, Rukia was ready, and her violet eyes snapped open, revealing her intense concentration

"Bakudo 61: Six Rod Light Prison!"

Naruto sprang to the right, as the crawling rope that had laid upon the moist soil, after the death of the first bunshin-

Suddenly seperated, and shooting outwards at all the clones-

Segemented, trapping each and every one in the powerful binding spell, that locked itself tight around their waists.

They all gasped in surprise, and Naruto looked on in awe for what came next.

Jamming the tip of her zanpaktou into the soil, Rukia held two palms outward, hands clasped together.

Seconds later, blue fire exploded into existence in her hands, as she intoned the name of the spell-

"Hadou nanajuusan:73 SOUKEN SOUKATSUI!" **(Twin lotus of blue fire)**

And sent a wall of flame roaring down upon the clones, kicking up a fierce fog of steam and dirt...


	6. WE WON! Total Victory!

**Note: Haku is a GIRL in my story, so BLEH! XD**

As it cleared, it revealed a livid Zabuza, veins visibly bulging from his forehead, as he struggled to control his temper, burn marks all over his exposed upper body.

And he was NOT happy, still maintaing his hold on the water prison, but he had paid the price for it, in his burns.

"You little bitch!"

Yet Rukia was not done yet.

Drawing her zanpaktou once more, she smoothly shunpoed across the soggy battlefield, swinging Sode no Shiryaku in one swift movement, past him, before he could even blink, her first dance already completed, a circle of white already forming, as the white sleeve of her pure white blade trailed in her wake.

"TSUKI SHIRO!"

Brushing himself off, Naruto grinned as he watched the ice begin to creep up on Zabuza's legs, whilst the water prison was just outside the circle, thus keeping the entrapped Aizen safe from harm.

"I'd move if I were you."

A harsh growl rumbled from Zabuza's throat.

"DA-MN YOU!"

With a fierce howl, he leapt to the left, out of the icey circle, just as the pillar shot into the sky-

And thus released his hold on the water prison, and thus, Aizen fell back into the water.

Yet Zabuza didn't break his stride for a moment, now charging in at Rukia, screaming like a banshee, swinging Nejibana at an incredibly fast pace, before bringing it down at her head, FAR faster than she had moved but a moment ago.

"DIE!"

She couldn't move, in her eyes, she only saw the trident, rushing down to claim her life-

Yet never touched her, as Naruto's Senbonzakura petals caught the blade, cushioning it, and preventing him for harming Rukia.

Naruto grinned, and held up Zorro, releasing the control over the flames-

And letting them loose in a massive wave of heat and fire, as Zorro belched the inferno from its mouth, swarming Zabuza in the small blaze, and heaving him up and away from the two, thrusting him into a tree moments later.

Naruto reached into his holster, and with two flicks of his wrist-

Two kunai now embedded the man to the the tree, holding him there by his now impaled arms, which were held out at his sides, as if he was crucified.

Rukia waved her hands once again:

"Crawling rope!"

And the snake of golden energy encircled the demonic man about the waist, then round the tree, thus binding him firmly to the tree, with no hope of escape.

Before he could even struggle, let alone break free, Aizen suddenly stood above him, blade held to the throat of the missing nin, ready to plunge it down at a moments notice.

"This is were it ends-

The whistling of air reached his ears, and he sprang away to the ground.

Just as a trio of needles pierced Zabuza's neck, with a small squishing sound.

With a loud cry, Zabuza shuddered, screaming in pain-

Then abruptly fell limp, his body undoing the weights that held him to the oak, and he fell roughly to the ground, the kidou spell released by Rukia.

"Thank you for the help." Came a voice, and everyone looked to the upper branches of the tree, where what looked to be a young girl, stood.

This was made evident by her long dark hair, and Naruto arched an eyebrow as he saw the hunter mask upon her face, which had the symbol of the mist engraved upon it.

"A tracker?"

Aizen knelt down and checked Zabuza's vitals, just as the girl teleported down to the 'dead' nin.

"Hmm. He's dead."

As he said this, he looked at the tracker, his gaze kindly, but to Haku, it felt like he was looking into the depths of her soul.

This man disturbed her.

She needed to leave this place.

Fast.

"I will dispose of the body now."

Picking up her master, she teleported away, fearing pursuit-

But Aizen gave none, and secretly smiled as he pushed up his glasses.

They'd be back, he knew everything, their plans, every little detail.

And surprisingly, this unexpected circumstance played right into his hands.

_'Hmm. This gives me a good excuse to give them that special training..._

Naruto gave a war whoop and jumped high into the air, feeling as if he was king of the world

"WE DID IT!"

Rukia wiped sweat of her brow, a small smile on her face.

"You did well. That was quite-

So caught up was he in his excitement, that Naruto did not think anything of what he did next-

Until it was far too late.

"WE ROCK!"

Rukia turned a deep crimson flush as his arms encircled her slender waist, and he suddenly gave her a big hug, her eyes going wide as a result.

Her mind screamed at her to slap him, shove him away-

But her body refused to respond, and much to her surprise, she did the _opposite, _as her arms went around his back and she hugged him back, violet eyes beginning to close, as she rested her head on his shoulder.

Just realizing his actions, Naruto blushed, his face a dark crimson hue as he realized what he was doing.

This felt...

_Rukia _felt...

Nice...

At a loss to explain what he was feeling, the poor teen was tongue tied.

"Erm...R-Rukia-chan...

The moment was ruined seconds later, as Aizen took a picture, and the two suddenly sprang apart, refusing to look at each other, then stealing a quick glance in the other's direction, holding the gaze, then looking away moments later.

Tucking the camera into the folds of his robe, Aizen struck up a brief conversation with Tazuna, explaining the situation, whilst the bridge builder offered for them to stay at his house, and offer which was readily accepted.

As for Momo however, she felt...

Well, she didn't know.

It felt like she was sick in her stomach, but she was fine.

And yet...

Whenever she looked at Rukia, who now kept glancing at Naruto-

The weird feeling came back, and she suddenly found herself glaring at the Kuchiki.

Aizen suppressed a small chuckle, and patting the normally kind girl on her head, drew her attention to him, and she looked up as a result.

"Momo, Are you jealous of Naruto-kun and Rukia-chan?"

"W-Why?! A-Are they dating?!" Then, realizing what she had just said, she emitted a small "Eep!" and clamped both hands over her mouth, closing her eyes as she did so, lest any more words should slip from her loose tongue.

However, she was still unable to hide the deep pink blush upon her face.

The captain chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I don't think they-

"Good!" Came Momo's immediate reply, abruptly cutting him off, before realizing the gravity of her words,

Again they had slipped out before she even knew what she was doing.

"AH!" She squeaked, and looked away, as Naruto and Rukia started to look in her direction, before walking towards them, moments later.

_'I'm so embarassed!'_

"Eh?" Hinamori-chan, why're you so red? You got a fever or somethin?" Asked Naruto, apparently forgetting his harsh words of before, as he put a hand to her forehead, which made her feel like she was going to pass out.

Just as she felt like she couldn't stand it anymore-

At last, Tazuna spoke up, thus saving her from anymore humiliation, as he pointed to the north, striking a confident pose as he did so, and Naruto released his hand from Hinamori's head, to laugh at the weirdness of the pose, which vaguely resembled that of Gai's, but not so creepy, and much more amusing..

"Okay, my house is a little ways from here, so lets get going!"

After an ineffective glare at the laughing redhead/blond, as his hair dye was now nealry gone from constant soaking and the fog, a sideeffect of the battle and such, he resumed his regular pose, and lead the way...

--

(Later)

"Training? ALL RIGHT!" Cried Naruto, as he sat cross legged on the floor, now up and rearing to go, now that he knew that their enemy was still very much alive. "I'll kick that Zabuza guy's ass ten times over next time!

"What kind of training?" Asked both Momo and Rukia, whilst Aizen smiled and put a finger to his lips.

"I'm not supposed to help you three learn this, but...

The three teans leaned forward, hanging on his every word.

"In addition to teaching you a kidou spells, and having Naruto learn shunpo, I'm going to help the three of you achieve bankai, or at least help you perfect the method of attaining it."

The response was instantaneous, loud and enthusiastic, and powerful enough to shake the house.

"YATTA!"


	7. True Feelings Emerge? Kiss the Girl!

**Get ready for pure fluff! And YES, this may very well be a harem, but five or six girls at the most! And on a side note, I meant to say that Naruto was 5"10. So ignore the 5"8 mistakes in previous chapters.**

"Aizen-sama, where's Naruto-kun?" Asked Momo two evenings later, as he had not been seen since Aizen gave each of them the official instruction on how to commune with their Soul Slayers.

She wore a pink tank top, black sweats, and pink bunny slippers, her hair out of its bun, and hanging freely down her shoulders.

She truly the epitome of cuteness, and it made Aizen chuckle as he saw her from the corner of his eyes, even though they were closed.

Had his 'son' seen Momo, he would have melted, that was how cute she looked right now.

_'Naruto, you have no idead what you're missing..._

Momo had worked the hardest of them all the other day, having reached harmony with her zanpaktou rather early, and as a result, had kickstarted her bankai training earliest, whilst Rukia and Naruto were left in the dust in that department.

Therefore, Aizen had told her to take the day off.

Pausing from his mediation, Aizen opened one eye, his back still to her, sitting upon the ground, his legs crossed as he meditated.

"I believe he said he was going out with Rukia."

He closed his eye seconds later.

Momo paled, the thought of Rukia spending time with Naruto, well let us just say that it was not a pleasant one.

"NANI?!"

But, with eyes still closed, he gave her the answer.

"No, not on a date, just to train and perfect their kidou/shunpo...

--

_"Bakudō _63. Winding Binding Chain! (鎖条鎖縛, _sajō sabaku) _Cried Rukia, as she pressed one palm to the ground, forcing Naruto spring back-

But to no avail.

He soon found himself suddenly coiled in a chain, but instead of panicking, focused on Senbonzakura under the nearby tree, and moments later, the petals swarmed upon the chains, shattering them in an instant, freeing their master, splitting away from the blade and now circling about him.

Rukia frowned reproachingly, hands on her hips as she shook her head.

"Naruto, the purpose of the exercise was to use you _kidou _to break free, not your shikai."

Pouting, the blond stamped his foot into the ground.

"But I hateat kidou, and you know that!"

She didn't answer, but kept glaring at him, violet eyes boring into blue. until he finally relented.

"Fine!" He cried, and with a wave of his hand, instructed Senbonzakura to return to the blade.

Again Rukia pressed her hands to the ground.

_"Bakudō _63. S_ajō sabaku!"_

Swallowing nervously, Naruto stood his ground as the chains sprang up at him, knowing that dodging them would do no good, as they could easily grab his ankles, and bind him down.

That meant he had to deflect them.

Pumping one hand out, he called:

_"Hadō 1. Shō!" (Thrust) _

Immediately, a small concussive blast of air slammed into the chains, thus directing them away from him, and back into the ground, buying him some time.

Rukia however, was not yet done, as a small sphere of golden light now danced in her hands, a familair spell that Naruto had witnessed just th other day.

_"Bakudō 4. Hainawa! (Crawling Rope)_

Before he could use another spell, the kido spell had already crawled around him like snake, firmly binding him tight, until-

A small smile touched his lips.

"_Hanki." (Reverse demon)_

Immediately, the yellow rope binding him shattered, as the spell nullified it, and dropped him to his feet.

Yet as he touched the ground, he pointed one finger at her, and white light shone from the lone digit.

"_Hado 4. Byakurai. (White lightning)_

Rukia's eyes widened, and moments later, the bolt of electricity sped towards her, tearing a furrow in the ground, and would devour her in a moment.

She clapped her hands before her, and moments later, they glowed a mix of yellow and red.

"_Bakudō 39 Enkosen!" (Arc Shield)_

The blockade of orange suddenly snapped into place, and easily absorbed the attack, ripling as the lightning was absorbed into is shimmery surface.

Naruto gaped, his legs going numb from shock.

"You gotta be kidding me...

Her other hand was raised now, and Naruto's eyes widened as she opted to forgo the incantation, a thing he did not think possible, as he was only capable of low level spells, which did not require lengthy word.

Thrusting the shield aside, she called it:

_"Bakudō 61 Rikujōkōrō!" (Six Rods Prison of Light)_

Naruto thrust two fingers outward,then pointed them down, rapidly intoning the only incantation he knew

_"Disintegrate, black dog of Rondaniini-_

The light formed about him, segmenting into six rods-

_Look upon your burning soul and sever your throat-_

Suddenly, he was pinned, but the spell was already prepared, supercharged by way of the incantation.

With a gleeful smirk, he let the screaming energy loose.

_"Bakudō 9 Geki!" (Strike)_

Rukia nearly fell to the ground, as a wall of red light swept upon her, binding her hands and legs together, and leaving her unable to move, then holding her upright, whilst Naruto was also rendered immobile by way of her spell, and was hanging slightly in midair as the six conjoined rods circled about his waist.

The two each struggled to break loose, but Naruto was stuck, do to the high level of the spell, whilst Rukia was trapped, due to the strengthening incantation Naruto had recited.

True, they were only inches apart from the other, but that only fueled their desire to best the other, for in kidou, they were fierce rivals, truly the other's equal, as this contests of wills and kidou had proven.

Fierce effort and strain showed on their faces as they tried their best to break free-

And failed.

_'I won't let him/her show me up!' _Were their thoughts at first, but this was growing ridiculous.

Neither of them would release their spell first, and at this rate, they would soon send up killing themselves from sheer overexertion.

"Truce?" Called Rukia, unable to move anything other than her head now, the rest of her body numb, as she was frozen where she stood, the red light pulsing strongly around her.

"Truce!" Cried Naruto, who felt about ready to pass out, from over exerting himself.

Moments later, their spells broke, and the two tumbled forward, right into each others arms, Rukia's head resting on Naruto's chest, whils his practically paralyzed hands hung loosely about her back.

Again they blushed, but unlike last time, they were now so weak that they could barely even stand, and were forced to lean on each other for support, lest they tumble to the hard, unforgiving ground.

They looked at each other for a moment, then sharply looked away, each sporting a deep blush, Rukia's face a bright pink, whilst Naruto's was a deep red.

Yet they peeked at each other, out of the corner of their eyes, then looked away as their eyes met a second time.

It was night by now, the sun had set during their fierce battle, and stars filled the sky, a full moon hanging in the dark, casting them both in its ghostly pallor.

_'Why am I thinking about him/her like this...._

As one, they looked at the orb of the night, then as if drawn by some invisible force, back at each other, their eyes holding to the others for a good three seconds, before they looked away again-

Only to ever so slowly, shyly, look back at each other.

Yet now, some strange force held them captive, and it was impossible for them to look away once more.

His eyes flickered down to her thin lips, and she was practically drowning in his deep blue eyes.

The scent of her perfume wafted through his nostrils, a sweet smell that he had never noticed before.

Something stirred within them, but neither could explain this strange sensation.

All they knew was that it, he/she...

Felt-

Nice.

_Really_ nice_._

Suddenly able to move again, his hold on her shifted, his hands now clasping at the small of her back, just around her hips.

As if out of the blue, he remembered what he had been told about her:

_'That's Kuchiki Rukia. She's royalty buddy..._

She was thinking similair thoughts of him, told to her by both classmates, and even some of the captains.

_'Naruto Uzumaki....With his potential, he'll be a seated office, hell, maybe even a lieutenant, in no time..._

He lowered his head, moving down, and she tilted hers up in response.

They both knew what was happening, but were powerless to stop it-

Because they didn't want to, this just felt...pure.

"Naruto...

"Rukia...

It felt _right_, so very, very right.

She shifted in his hold, taking a small step forward, pressing her body lightly against his, her arms encircling his neck, hands clasping together as she did so, standing on her tiptoes, so as to better reach him.

Their eyes drifted closed, as neither wanted to see who made the first move.

Time seemed to freeze, as their lips were now less than an inch apart-

Until, finally, it moved again, and at last, it happened.

His lips covered hers, and moments later, she returned it, gently, slowly, pressing back against him.

He drank her in, holding her gently, yet firmly, a soft whimper escaped her throat.

It had happened.

In the night, under the moonlight, starry sky, with the sounds of the night echoing about them, fireflies flitting about their forms, casting them in their yellowish green glow-

This, was it.

Their very first kiss.

**AW! THIS WAS THE BEST FLUFF I HAVE EVER WROTE!**


	8. Mysterious Girl? Enter Haku!

It happened.

In the night, under the moonlight, starry sky, with the sounds of the night echoing about them, fireflies flitting about their forms, casting them in their yellowish green glow.

Their very first kiss.

They broke apart, pulling their lips away at the same time, a look of stunned awe plastered over their faces, as if _truly _seeing the other, for the very first time.

What did you expect? Any fourteen year old would be surprised by their first kiss.

The two were at a loss for their words, but they each knew, one lone, solitary fact.

They were happy.

A breeze swept by, and Rukia shivered slightly as, if not mentioned before, she had discarded her traditional black kimono, in a favor of black jeans, and a dark violet tank top-

Which, in Naruto's mind, only served to further accentuate her beauty.

Momentarily releasing her, he removed his black jacket/hoodie, and draped it over her shoulders.

She blushed, but releasing him, clung to it it for warmth, slipping it on moments later.

Naruto laughed, a kind, gentle chuckle, as she shivered again-

His eyes went wide, as she suddenly reached out to take his hand in hers, hesitantly, almost shyly, speaking at last.

"This is...

...Nice?" He prompted, not really knowing what to say.

She nodded. "Yeah...Really nice."

Then, shifting her body so that she was closer to him, Rukia was rewarded as he released her hand, his arm now nervously encircling her waist.

He winced, anticipating a slap, but she just pulled his arm closer, until the lengthy appendage had a firm grip on her waist.

Side by side, they walked to the tree, and took up their zanpaktou, breaking apart only to sheathe them, then back together, the moment their blades slid shut, almost as if they feared to leave the other alone.

Their eyes met shyly, and this time, there was no breaking the stare, as neither had any particular reason to.

Rukia let out a small sigh, as she now rested her head against his side, and Naruto squeezed her waist ever so gently.

"Wow...He murmured, causing Rukia to blink, amidst the glow of the fireflies, tilting her head ever so slightly in confusion..

"Nani?"

He shook his head, grinning sheepishly, whilst on the inside, he felt like he was on cloud nine, and not just because he was practically dating royalty, but because his eyes had been opened to the gentle, tender touch of a girl, something he had obviously never experienced before.

"Sorry, its just that I never noticed-

He looked away now, as if ashamed to admit his pigheadedness.

"How cute you are."

Rukia's face lit itself a light pink now, before she controlled her blush.

"Really?"

At this he nodded enthusiastically. "Believe it!"

A shy smile touched her lips, and whilst standing next to him, she swayed from side to side, in embarrassment/happiness, before looking back up at him, when he spoke again, he was now a bright red.

"H-Hey, I know this is k-kinda s-sudden, b-but-

The last part was barely a whisper, as some small part of him still feared the worst.

"Do you wanna, you know, go out with me?"

She had been dying to ask him the exact same thing, and now that he had given voice to the one thought on their minds, she felt as if a great weight had been lifted from her slim shoulders.

"Awww...

Gently, she reached up to his face, and ever so smoothly pulled him down, he offered no resistance.

A chaste kiss was planted upon his lips, but now they just stood there, eyes still closed, lips pressed ever so tenderly against each other, soaking up this most wonderful of feelings.

Breaking it a minute later, she nodded slowly.

"I'd _love_ to be your girlfriend, Naruto-kun."

Those words packed enough punch to practically KO him, but he somehow remained conscious.

He felt like jumping into the air, and screaming "YES!" at the top of his lungs, but with great effort, he restrained himself, instead standing tall, and looking through the woods.

"Then lets head back."

Taking his hand in her, Naruto's smile was just as wide as the one Rukia wore, as they nodded, and still staring deep into each others eyes, spoke one word, looking straight ahead moments later.

"Together."

And like this, they headed back to Tazuna's house.

Ah, young love...

--

(Morning)

Aizen slowly counted off on his fingers as the sun rose, knowing that with it, there would be a most unpleasant reaction soon to come.

Three...

Two...

One...

"NANI?!"

Rising to his feet, he stepped around a surprised Tsunami, and made his way to the living room, where a heated arguement could be heard taking place...

---

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AND NARUTO KISSED?!" Screeched Momo, tears streaming down her face, her body shaking with sobs as she spoke, still clad in her pajama's, whilst Rukia now wore a basic pair of dark blue jean shorts, with a black tank top that exposed the curves of her midriff and stomach, signs of puberty, which Momo had yet to experience.

Rukia gave her a deadpanned look, planting both hands on her hips, as she slowly spoke to the distraught girl, trying her best to keep calm. "Momo, I'm sorry, but it just happened, and-

Her eyes went wide as Momo reached for her zanpaktou, which was strapped at her hip, whilst Rukia had left hers in the bedroom.

"Momo!"

The sharp rebuke gave the distraught teen pause, allowing Aizen enough time to step between them, and hold her back, lest she do something foolish.

Immediately, she broke down, and started bawling into the fabric of Aizen's brown t-shirt, staining it wet.

Aizen had also discarded his shinigami attire, in favor of the afforementioned shirt, and a basic par of Old Navy faded blue jeans, completed with dark brown hiking boots.

"Where's Naruto...She murmured, a broken look in her eyes.

Rukia spoke now, sounding confused. "Well...He said he wanted to do some private training."

Looking from one girl to the other, Aizen decided that he would spare his son the catfight that would inevitably take place once he returned...

For now.

"If he's trying to commune with his zanpaktou, then we had best let him be...

--

"RAAAAARGH!"

An explosion of orange and pink lit the forest-

And when it cleared, revealed an exhausted Naruto, sprawled on his back, arms and legs stretched out and numb.

He was close.

So very close!

_'What am I doing wrong?'_

But try as he might, even though he was just one step away from reaching perfect harmony with his zanpaktou-

Everything fell apart, he lost is serenity, and he'd be forced to to start all over again!

Against his will, sleep suddenly took him...

--

In a cone shaped house in the middle of the forest, a girl sat next to her master, who was currently resting. T

he girl had a pretty face, dark brown eyes, dark hair that was tied up in a bun on top of her head, except two bangs hanging down and framing her face. She wore a green shirt with brown pants and a long, brown belt.

"Another four days, and you'll be back to normal Zabuza." The girl said.

--

This day, the same girl stood up and walked over to the window. Releasing the bun, her hair fell down to just under her shoulder blades. _'We're running out of medicinal herbs. I better go get some more..._

Ten minutes later, she was walking into the forest. Now she wore a pink kimono with red cherry blossoms on it, making her appear like a simple civilian, not a deadly ninja.

She carried a basket and was humming slightly to herself as her bare feet crossed through the grass making her giggle slightly as the strands tickled her feet.

After an hour of walking, she came upon what she had searched for. Kneeling down, she started to pick medical herbs. Soon her basket was almost full. A bird landed on her shoulder, and she smiled at it, cooing slightly at it before returning to her task.

She was startled when the bird suddenly flew off. Feeling slightly down, she followed it with her gaze. She saw the bird land next to a boy, who looked to be tall for his age.

A boy with blond hair, two blades, one his left hand, one in his right, and a Konoha forehead protector.

The girl got up and walked towards him, leaning her face close to his in curiosity. The bird flew off, as if thinking that the girl was going to kill the boy.

Instead she shook him awake gently her brown eyes still curiously staring at him

"Hey, you'll catch a cold sleeping here." she said kindly. Naruto opened his eyes and looked up at the pretty girl, his sapphire blue eyes meeting her innocent doe brown.

"Hello?"

Then they saw how close they were to each other, and the both turned beet red. Naruto was the first to move, carefully pulling back and sitting up, he rubbed his eyes before speaking to her.

"Hey miss, what are you doing here?" he asked

The girl smiled, her pale pink blush fading and gestured to her basket.

"I'm picking medical herbs. They're for my injured companion." She said with a smile on her face. Naruto yawned as he rose to his feet, a smile on his face.

"Mind if I lend ya a hand?"

--

A little later, Naruto was helping the girl.

"So, what were you doing out here?" the girl asked and Naruto grinned

"Training!" he said proudly, looking to his two blades, which were jammed into the tree before them,

"So, you are a ninja. Why would you be training? You look very strong already." The girl said.

"I want to be even stronger, ant any cost so I can protect those I cherish." Naruto said seriously but still cheerfully.

"So, you train because of your precious people?" the girl said.

"What do you mean by that?" Naruto replied, focused on pulling the herbs up, but careful not to damage them.

"When you have people precious to you, you become stronger when you fight for them." The girl explained slowly, as if this was the most obvious thing in the world

Naruto thought for a bit and remembered all the people he held precious to him. Rukia, Momo, his father, the ramen man and his daughter, and if he was completely honest with himself; Soul Society.

Naruto already knew why he wanted to train so hard.

He wanted strength, to use it, to protect those he cared about, and he would become stronger, at any cost.

"Yeah, I understand what you mean." He said and the girl smiled.

She stood up from where she had crouched down and took her basket.

"You will become strong then, very strong." She said and walked away.

--

The girl walked for a bit until she heard a voice behind her.

"Thank you. That was some motivational speech,The girl whirled around to see who talked to her. She saw Aizen step out from behind a tree, his brown eyes cold, yet his voice kind as he recognized her, seeing through her facade as she spoke.

"Oh, you scared me. But it was no big deal." The girl said and smiled at him, hoping that he would fall for her facade-

But Aizen was a master of illusions, and he could see through the most intricate of deceptions.

Including the bold faced lie she was telling him even now.

Shrugging his shoulders, he shook his head and acted like it was nothing to him.

"Even if it wasn't a big deal, he'll use what you said, and help him in his training. He's been a bit down about something lately, and whatever you told him it seems to have done the trick. Thanks... mist hunter nin!" He said with a smile, although his eyes were cold steel.

The girl shuddered a little and tried to deny it.

"What are you...

Tsking, he wagged a finger reproachingly at her, whilst he pushed his glasses up with his other hand.

"You can't fool these eyes. The way you talk, the way you hold yourself, the slight twitch of your eye. I recognize it all form the hunter nin that saved Zabuza."

She stiffened, her entire body going rigid.

"But don't worry. I won't attack you, and neither will Naruto." I just wanted to thank you, but the next time we meet, we will have to fight. And when that happens-

He gave a small chuckle and shrugged. "Well, even I won't be able to predict the outcome," He calmly stated, and walked past her to Naruto, who waved in greeting as he saw his dad.

The girl stood there for a bit before composing herself and running back to Zabuza, oddly unable to contemplate laying a hand on her new friend, let alone actually _killing_ him...


	9. Momo's Determination!

**WOOT! I JUST READ THE LATEST CHAPTER OF BLEACH! GO MOMO!**

**Attention: To the anonymous reviewer known only as DD (), who has constantly reviewed harshly, said that I AND my stories suck, and just been a general pain in the ass: DON'T YOU HAVE ANYTHING BETTER TO DO THAN FLAME ME?! AND WHAT'S WORSE IS YOU HIDE BEHIND ANONYMITY SO I CAN'T PM YOU BACK! PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE THE REASON I DISABLE ANONYMOUS REVIEWS! So in short: I DO NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOUR BAD FLAMES!**

Naruto finally returned the next morning, all smiles, as he strutted in through the front door, like a peacock showing off its feathers, patting proudly the two zanpaktou sheathed at his right side.

Aizen looked up from where he sat and smiled in turn, as there could only be one reason for this.

Either Naruto had achieved Bankai, or he was _very _close to doing so.

He chatted excitedly with Rukia about something for a few minutes, then looked at a few of her drawings, which with great difficulty,and miracuosly keeping a straight face, he said were amazing, even though they looked like something a preschooler would draw.

This earned him a heartwarming smile, and a peck on the cheek, rather than a scowl and a frying pan to the head, as he had often received when he had bluntly stated that they needed work, only days before.

Well, they did say pain was a harsh mentor...

When asked, Naruto refused to say a word of it, the drawings OR his bankai, and instead asked where Momo was, using his new nickname for her as he did so.

"Hey pops, do you know where Hina-chan is? I wanna show her something!"

"She went out to train." Was the bland response as he turned to the next page in his recently acquired book, given to him by one Kakashi Hatake.

"Then I'll go find her!" Came his enthusiastic response, and with that, he spun on one heel to leave-

At this, Aizen's face fell somewhat.

_'Well, this was bound to happen sooner or later..._

"I...wouldn't do that if I were you." He said, as calmly as he could, his words stopping the blond cold, as he looked over his shoulder.

"Eh? Why not?"

He couldn't put this off any longer.

Rising from his seat, and putting down his book (**Icha Icha, lol)**, he placed on hand on Naruto's back.

"Let's...talk about it outside."

Thus, he escorted his 'son' outdoors, to break the harsh news to him...

--

Naruto looked dumbstruck, sad, and angry, all at once, as he was told the news.

In other words, the poor teen looked heartbroken.

"Eh?! Momo-chan said she never wants to speak to me again?!"

The captain sighed and sat Naruto down on the porch, whilst he stood before his distraught son, arms crossed over his chest, his tone stern.

"And she has good reason to."

For the first time in his long life, Aizen immediately regretted the words, as the confused look on the blonde's face abruptly turned to one of indescribable pain, as one hand moved to loosely rest over his chest, were his heart would be.

Those words, coming from his own _father,_ they had _hurt._

His mouth opened in a silent 0, both from shock, and something else.

"It was...something I did?"

Quick to remedy the situation, Aizen knelt before the boy, and gave him a hug, releasing him seconds later. "Not because of that. Now Think. What could you have done to make Momo upset, and when did you see her last?"

Rocking back on his heels, the jinchuuriki paused to think, before his eyes went wide, and his mouth opened in a silent 0, realizing slapping hard in the face, then coming back around for good measure.

And then he shouted it at the top of his lungs.

"ACK! Hina-chan is jealous of-

Aizen clamped a hand over his mouth, silencing him with a shake of his head as he muffled his protests.

The LAST thing they needed was for Rukia to get involved in this.

"Sh."

Nodding the boy sucked in a ragged gasp of air as he was released, a forlorn look on his face as he realized his conundrum.

"What am I gonna do? I _really _like Rukia-chan, I've been best friends with Hina-chan _forever_, and now-

His suddenly fell silent, and Aizen arched an eyebrow in surprise.

If Naruto wasn't talking about something or _someone_that usually meant it either embarrassed him, or...

He liked said person.

And they hadn't seen anyone else in Naruto's age group besides-

_That_ girl.

Unfortunately, this only complicated things.

The captain bit his lip, calm on the outside, whilst inwardly, his mind was racing.

What Naruto didn't know was that the girl he had picked herbs with, just the other day, was actually the fake hunter nin that had rescued Zabuza, and they would doubtlessly clash again soon, as the bridge would be finished in another day or so...

But the girl _had _to know who Naruto was, and if she had pulled of the guise of a tracker like that-

Then who _knew _what she was capable of?

He would have to ponder this.

Patting Naruto on the head, he gave the best advice he could.

"Just do what you believe is right."

With that, he walked past his son, and onto the porch-

"Dad?"

Aizen halted in mid-step.

"Hmm?"

Naruto looked up, the blue sky, the shining sun, it all looked peaceful, but he could feel it, a dark sense of foreboding that had been steadily creeping up on him, more so with everday, until now, when it was suffocating him.

His lower lip trembled slightly, as he felt a cold shiver run through his body, as if all the heat had suddenly been drained from his form.

Something was about to happen, something _big, _something...bad.._._

"I'm... scared."

Aizen sighed in understanding. "Everyone gets scared Naruto-

"Even a shinigami?" Interrupted the boy, suddenly looking up at his father, whom he had _never _seen scared, not once in his lifetime...

Aizen's smile was a sad one now.

Those words held more truth than he would ever know.

"Yes, even a shingami feels fear."

"Even you?" The Jinchuuriki persisted.

As much as he'd like to deny that fact, the truth was, he felt fear, more often then he'd like to admit.

"Yes, even me."

--

(Forest)

Momo squeezed her hilt tightly, harder and harder, until her hands bled, and when her concentration reached its peak, she swung her zanpaktou in a right to left arc-

"BURST!"

The tree before he suddenly fell hard to the ground, cut clean across the middle, then another, and another, until five trees had been felled, via a pink crescent wave of energy, smoke trailing in its steaming wake.

Through the dust and dirt, Momo was panting heavily, the bags visible under her eyes, from lack of sleep.

With great effort, she straightened herself, and began again.

"SNAP!"

WHAM!

"BURST!"

CRAAAAACK!

Tree after tree fell from her strikes, and if they did not, each one bore a large scorch mark in its ancient timber

Tobuime glowed a bright pink, as the kidou shrank back into the blade, as sweat beaded down her brow.

She fell to her hands and knees, suddenly gasping for breath, Tobuime falling from her loose fingers, clattering to the earth, next to her right hand, in its sealed state.

_'Darn, still not there yet. How did Naruto-kun get this far-_

Unbidden, a smiling image of the goofy blond popped into her head, breaking her focus entirely, as wave upon wave of despair washed over her.

Her eyes scrunched shut, her face twisting in pain, tears began to stream down her face, her hands now digging into the ground, clawing at it, as a ragged sob escaped her.

She hated him!

"Its not fair...

Why? Why did he have to do that?!

She...

They had been friends, no _best-friends _for years, ever since they were three, and just when she had started to think, maybe, just _maybe, _they could have something more.

In came little miss perfect, a noble princess in Soul Society, to sweep him away!

Why did she feel this way?

Her body convulsed with sobs, as her head hit the ground, then remained there, sniffles, sobs and other piteous sounds escaping her.

**_You know why. _**Echoed a woman's voice in her head, and she bit her lip, recognizing her soul slayers presence.

"Tobuime...

**_You've known for quite some time now, but you refuse to acknowledge it._**

Her eyes suddenly snapped open, and she gasped, the terrible realization for everything, the reason for her pain, crystal clear to her.

How could she be so blind?

Right now, at this very moment, the knowledge only served to make things worse.

She loved him.

And it hurt, it hurt so much!

"Why did she have to ruin everything?!"

**_Then do something about it._**

Didn't he care about her?!

**_Will you stand by and let him go?_**

Did he even _see _her?!

**_You know what you must do._**

Did he feel for her, would he _die _for her, the way she would for him?!

**_Rise up! _**

A wail, torn straight from her heart, one of unbearable, unbelievable pain and heartbreak, screamed out of her throat.

"WAAAAAAAAH!"

**_Stand tall!_**

She reached out and grabbed the hilt of Tobuime with her right hand, then her left, still on her knees, but now holding the blade out before herself

**_Prove yourself to him!_**

So stricken was she, that she was totally unprepared for what came next, as in her moment of despair, she had achieved perfect harmony with Tobuime, and the sound of glass shattering, as if a barrier had been broken, was heard in her head, deafening, drowning out all else besides the voice of her soul slayer.

**_Make him proud to be in your presence!_**

Which meant....

**_Now, call my name!_**

Unbidden, the words suddenly ripped past her lips, yet came out as little more than a whisper, in the sudden silence of the forest, which seemed to hold its breath in nervous anticipation

"Bankai. Ba-suto: Uruwashii no hana, heki megami." **(Burst: Beautiful screaming flower goddess)**

**_RELEASE!_**

Her reiastu _jumped_, for that was the best way to describe it, as it increased tenfold, crushing the ground beneath her into a crater, shredding the bun that held her hair back, her robe flowing about in the fierce wind of her power, her long black hair whipping wildly about her, as her blade suddenly glowed a blindingly bright pink, the resulting energy stemming out of it, then flowing it into her, causing her to gasp and grip the hilt tighter, as a warm, tingling sensation flowed through her body...

A buzzing sound filled her ears, and all she saw was the pink light of Tobuime, which was morphing, _twisting _in her grip, but she could not see it, only its hilt, as even looking at the blade was impossible, due to the sharp glare.

Panic seized her as she felt her consciousness begin to ebb, but the voice of her zanpaktou was there to reassure her.

**_Calm down, Hinamori. Just relax, and let it happen._**

Reluctantly, she did so, and moments later, sank into the peacefull bliss of slumber, a momentary lapse of being, that all shinigami experience, when using their bankai for the first time.

Then the forest was consumed in pink light...


	10. Don't Hold Back! Bankai!

The next day came way too early for Naruto. The sun shone right onto his eyes...

_NARUTO!_

He rolled over in bed, covering his head, as the voice of Senbonzakura rang in his head, the girl zanpaktou sounding quite upset with him.

"Go away...

_NA-RU-TO!!_

"No...

His eyes widened as a pair of hands suddenly seized the bed, and flipped it _and _him over, his eyes snapping open, and seeing a 5"9 girl clad in a pink kimono, with long flowing crimson hair, and silvery grey eyes, set in the fine features of her gorgeous face.

And she was giving him a wicked smile, before she vanished from sight again, her work done.

With a hard thud, he fell to the floor in a heap, stars passing before his eyes.

_BAKA! YOU SLEPT IN!_

It took a few minutes for him to blink away the weariness, as he returned to the world of the waking, only after Zorro joined in on pestering him.

"Fine! I'm up!"

He turned and looked at the clock, then his eyes widened as he saw what time it was, his mouth hanging slightly agape.

_'GAH!__ I overslept!'_ He thought, jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom, got washed, ran back, got dressed and just as he was strapping his zanpaktou onto his back, he heard a yell downstairs.

"If you touch that child, I'll bite my tongue off and kill myself!"

His eyes narrowed.

_'That was Tsunami. What the blazes...._

He could tell that Senbonzakura was smirking, even though he couldn't truly see her at this exact moment, her smug tone made it abundantly clear.

_TOLD YOU!_

He thought before he sensed the presence of two unfamiliar chakras.

Scowling, he snuck out the window, and clung to the wall with chakra. Making his way to the door, which was sliced to pieces, he peered in and saw two gruffy looking samurai holding Tsunami hostage and leaving a crying Inari.

Quickly hiding, the blond watched as the two samurai walk out, leading a tied up Tsunami.

With great effort, he restrained the urge to leap out and stop them.

Attacking them head on would accomplish nothing, as then they would have a hostage, so...

This would have to be over before they could _use _her as a hostage.

Naruto was now in front of them, moving in a lightning fast shunpo

"Release her." He commanded, eyes flashing dangerously.

"Huh? One of those ninja kids Tazuna hired." One of the samurai said.

"Let's kill him." The other said.

They looked at Tsunami, and one licked his lips as he spoke.

"If you move, then we will kill your little brat." They said and rushed at Naruto, who merely sighed, reaching behind his back. Inari, who saw all this, ran to his mother as fast and silently as he could.

"Mom. I'll save you." He said and quickly untied her.

"Inari... Tsunami said and hugged the boy.

--

The blond held his blade up before his face as the samurai rushed at him.

Closing is eyes, he silently drew Senbonzakura from her sheathe, whispering her shikai command.

"Scatter."

The blade silently fragmented into petals, and with but a thought, Naruto sent them towards the two men.

The blossoms seemed to silently creep upon them, until the last second, when they suddenly leapt upon the samurai, and ripped bloody gashes all over their bodies, until they were no longer screaming or moving.

Narutosheathed his sword, and nearly threw up. He had made his first kill.

'_Damn, so this is how it feels to kill. To end someone's life. I think I'm going to be sick...._ he thought and before he could really control himself, he puked.

Inari and Tsunami, who had been watching, ran over to him, being careful not to step in the blood pool from the two dead samurai.

"Naruto! Are you alright?" Tsunami asked the still retching boy.

He shook his eyes and looked at the two bodies before closing his eyes.

"I heard that the first kill was bad, but this…damn!" he said and sat down. Looking at his shaky hands his voice almost broke, still shocked at his accidental kill.

"This hand ended someone's life. I…I.. I know why dad is always so...quiet. he must have killed _thousands _of people in his lifetime. And here I am freaking out over killing TWO."

Tsunami and Inari looked at each other.

"I'll just clean this up a bit." he said and made some kage bunshin. Tsunami noted that Naruto's hands still shook slightly. The clones picked up the two bodies and carried them out on the water.

Naruto followed up on this and made some hand seals, opting to save his reiatsu.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu." he called out numbly and the fire ball incinerated the bodies. When he was done, he walked back to the two. He noticed Inari looking slightly afraid.

"Don't worry-

The blond suddenly paled, eyes suddenly going wide as a horrifying reality slapped him in the face. "If they attacked here, they'll definitely attack the bridge!"

"I have to go now. Be careful, okay?" he said rapidly but didn't give Inari or Tsunami a chance to respond, as he simply faded out of view, rapidly heading towards the bridge....

--

What…what is this?" Tazuna yelled, voice and face filled with shock and horror for the sight that lay before them. He, and the others with the exception of the dozing Naruto, had arrived to check on the progress of the bridge, only to be met with the grisly sight of bloodied bodies of the workers lying about either unconscious or killed.

"This is… Zabuza's technique...Momo said, gulping nervously as she remembered how close their last battle had been, and she was not looking forward to another battle with the missing nin.

"Form the ring." Aizen calmly commanded, surprisingly relaxed. The ninjas formed a protective ring around Tazuna with the captain at the front his arms hanging loosely at his sides.

"Well, are you going to play hide and seek all day, or are you going to show yourself?"

In response, a thick mist came rolling in, covering the bridge in a dense fog that blocked all visibility. Aizen sighed, and removed his glasses, tucking them into the folds of his robe, briefly running a hand through his moist hair, and slicking it back.

"I'll take that as a yes."_._

**"**Hidden Mist Jutsu." Zabuza's voice came throughout the mist, coming from every direction as he used his signature technique.

Rukia let out an exasperated sigh, gripping her sealed zanpaktou tightly. "Naruto, you baka, why did you have to sleep in again...

Momo did a double take as soon as he said this, immediately assuming the wrong thing a surprised expression on her face, then one of anger, as she hmphed, and looked away from her comrade.

Rukia opened her mouth to protest-

But Aizen silenced them both with a rare glare.

Now was not the time to be fighting.

"Sh...

Rukia nodded, her eyes closing, as she did so.

"Come out!"

A smirk traced her lips.

"That is, unless you're _scared..._

"Oh, the little Genin has some spunk. You actually heard me coming. Good for you. Now lets see if you can stop _me _from attacking this time." Zabuza said and suddenly ten water clones of Zabuza appeared around them, encircling the small group as they each drew their massive zanpaktou drawn, each one holding it over his right shoulder.

The two girls narrowed their eyes.

"Dance."

"Snap."

Their voices echoed out simultaneously, and seconds later, their blades had morphed into shikai.

Several of the bunshin's motioned forward in a classic 'bring it on' gesture. "All right then brats. Lets see if you've improved any in four days."

Aizen's eyes closed and smiled, his tone surprisingly carefree, despite the dangerous situation that they were in.

"Momo, why don't you us the results of the training that you put so much effort into?" She nodded, snapping off a salute that made Rukia sweatdrop as the girl glared at her for it.

"Hai! Aizen-sama!"

Throwing off her black robe, as it was soaking wet in the mist, she revealed herself to be clad in a long sleeved red shirt, and white jeans.

She pulled out a hairtie from her pocket, and tied it tightly around her bun, making sure it didn't fall out.

Her eyes glittered with determination.

"Here I go!"

A moment later, a red and white blur shot past the clones, and each one of them stiffened as the blur crossed them.

Momo had improved all right, in leaps and bounds

She allowed herself a small smile, as her shunpo drove her towards the ninth clone, who had the presence of mind to raise his blade in a guard.

_'So, these clones DO think for themselves.' _In response to the last second guard, she merely bounded over it, driving her blade into the neck of the copy. Then, without pausing, she leapt off of its neck, and dashed towards the final clone, who was bringing his sword down, in an attempt to split the speedy shinigami in two.

That did him little good, for due to the weight of his blade, as the mizu bunshin had kept his in a sealed state, he lost a precious second bringing it down off his shoulder, and that was all the time she needed to move to the right, the blade smashing into the cement, cracking the spot wheres he had been a moment earlier.

When he reappeared behind all the clones, her back to them, a moment later, Tobuime was glowing softly, and the clones had several slashes on various parts of their bodies.

Seconds later, they all fell down into puddles of water, losing their form and shape as they fell.

Zabuza smiled beneath his bandages.

"Oh, this one's improved quite a bit. We might actually have to get our hands dirty."

The mist cleared a bit and there stood the real Zabuza with the hunter nin next to him. His tone was laced with amusement as he spoke to his rescuer, knowing full well that Aizen had figured out that Haku was a fake hunter nin, who had used the mask as a disguise to rescue her unprepared master from certain death-

But it did not matter if they knew that now, there was no longer a need for secrecy.

THIS time, Zabuza had planned for everything, and ignoring his pride and he had left nothing to chance, not wanting to suffer yet another near death state that Haku had been forced to put him in.

He winced as he felt imaginary pain from where the needles had embedded themselves in his neck, making him suppress a shudder as he shook it off. _'There is no WAY I'm going through that again...._

"It looks like you have a rival for speed, Haku." said Zabuza, remembering her request to keep his identity secret, and honoring it at this very moment, despite the fact that the blond gaki wasn't here.

The ice user smiled beneath her mask, glad that her master had chosen to honor her request. It made her very happy to know that this man, the Demon of the Mist, was capable of small kindnesses, form time to time as she nodded her head in response. _'Thank you, Zabuza-sama...  
_

She pulled out a Senbon from her back pouch, and calmly motioned forward, as she held it in her left hand, the other free for another use. Lucky for her, her mask distorted her voice, making her sound like a young boy, instead of her usual feminine voice, effectively disguising her perfectly.

"You look to be quite strong. This should be an enjoyable battle for the both of us."

The first to move was Haku. She rushed at Momo with a senbon (long needle). But the shinigami quickly stepped back, and cast a wall of kidou at her, and when it cleared, the two had seized the other by a wrist, leaving both unable to move

"Looks like we are at a stalemate." Momo said confidently but Haku shook her head, a sad smile on her face beneath the mask.

"Sorry, but I have two advantages. First I have occupied one of your hands- Rukia frowned at this, and only then did she notice the large puddles that the clones had left behind.

_'Uh-oh. I have a bad feeling about this..._

Her feelings turned out to be right as Haku went, beginning to go through a set of one handed seals. "Also, there is the water around us, perfect for this jutsu." Hinamori gasped when she saw how rapidly, and how many seals the girl was going through, as one handed seals were usually the sign of one who is exceptionally skilled at ANY kind of jutsu.

"One handed?"

"A Thousand needles of death!"

"ENKOSEN, SHO!"

Two things happened at once.

An orange shield sprang up, and suddenly blocked the needles, whilst Momo felt a hand on her shoulder, then the hadou spell shoved her, and Haku backwards, apart and away, just as a fierce jet of flame, a towering, spiralling twister of fire, exploded from the earth between them seconds later, spiraling on and on, until its owner was revealed, none other than Naruto Uzumaki, hovering an inch or so above the ground.

Rukia restrained a smirk, whilst Momo just gaped, as he landed with a small tap, before jabbing Zorro in the direction of Haku, who was picking herself up off the ground, whilst flames licked the mouth of his zanpaktou

"Naruto Uzumaki is here!"

Everyone could tell he was different now, but as to what, only Aizen knew, and his silent smile gave nothing away...

Haku frowned behind her mask, a forlorn expression

"I did not want to use this, but it seems I have no choice...

She placed her hands in a seal, and a blue light rose from her.

Naruto gasped, as the water around him and Momo rose, taking shape.

Naruto gasped, then pushed her out of the forming dome.

"Get outta there!"

"CRYSTAL ICE MIRRORS!"

Rukia ran forward, but Aizen held her back, whilst Momo could only look on in horror, as Naruto combated Haku.

Alone.

"No stay here and guard Tazuna, while I deal with Zabuza."

"But he'll-

"That's an order."

She had to bite her lip, as screams of pain came from the dome, and Aizen stalked towards the missing nin.

"Let's begin, shall we?"

--

Naruto glares at the masked fighter in front of him, his breath's coming in ragged heaves as he looks at another of the masked fighters, his shikai defense no match for her speed, his flames unable to melt her mirror defense, blood dripping, staining into his clothes.

His opponent sounded...sad, almost, but he had no idea why.

"So you will not give up?"

The blond shook his head.

"Never."

She sighed. "Then I shall become a true Shinobi and kill my heart. Your death, your loss will be quick and painless. That is all I can promise you...

Blurs all around him and senbon hitting his bodies is all he saw and felt.

He paused, time froze, and in the mind of the goth blond **(He wears all black, remember?) **It was time.

_'No choice then..._

Under the barrage, he suddenly stands tall, albeit shaking a bit from the incessant piercing, and the agonizing pain that follows it.

"You're wrong."

He raised Senbonzakura, then held it to down to the ground

Haku stopped her attacks momentarily.

"What?"

He looked at one of the reflections, square in the eye.

And just like that, he dropped the blade, allowing it to fall straight down

"I...won't lose here."

Haku was stunned.

_'He dropped the blade?'_

His heart rate quickened, and he felt a pair of arms encircle his chest in a hug, long crimson hair tickling at his nose, her form pressed gently against his, her breath warm on his neck, in the feeling embrace. the ultimate sign of bonding between a shinigami and their zanpaktou, a true level of harmony and cooperation.

_Ready?_

He reached up and placed his hands over hers, still on his chest.

The words formed on his lips in his mind, her head resting against his own, then lying over his shoulder, as she pressed herself closer to him, in a firm, caring embrace, looking at the same reflection he was.

_'I was BORN ready.'_

Senbonzakura sank into the stone, disappearing with a ripple, blade, hilt and all.

Haku gasped as the surroundings faded to dark blue still safe in her dome mirrors, but something told her that would not last much longer, as suddenly, they too faded away with the rest of everything, still there, but not in this moment of time.

"What jutsu is this...

Twin rows of blades rose on either side of him, and the needles in his body fell away, vanishing as they hit the floor, whilst the rows extended to their full length

Naruto felt her awareness merge with his own, two becoming one, and with it, he felt her, his eyes, _their _eyes, closing together.

Her thoughts, her feelings, her memories, likes, dislikes, it was all there, all of it was in him, he could feel her prescence, no longer only in his mind, but flooding through his entire body, as if they were one person.

_Here we go._

He took a deep breath, and when his eyes opened, the left was still blue, but the other was a startling sparkling, silvery grey.

When he spoke, his voice was a mixing of hers, and his own, a mixing of high and low, yet as one whilst he still retained his actual sense of being and body.

"Ban-kai."

This was Senbonzakura- No, this was-

"Senbonzakura, Kageyoshi."**(Vibrant Display of a Thousand Cherry Blossoms)**

Behind him, the blades shattered, into millions of pink, flowery petals, and upon doing so, the surroundings returned, as did the dome.

Haku promptly withdrew into her mirrors-

Just as the entire dome was engulfed in a tidal wavepink blossoms, from the inside out.

--

Aizen paused from his battle with Zabuza to look in the direction of the dome, or rather what _used _to be a dome, as it was currently wrapped up tight, in the fierce unrelenting grip of Naruto's bankai.

Despite the fact that he was currently grappling against the man's Nejibana in a power struggle, he allowed a smile to grace his lips.

The boy had done him proud, and was well on his way to fufilling his destiny.

"Well done, my son, well done."

Fire shone in his own eyes, as he had stalled long enough, and now it was time to bring this little farce of a battle to a close.

"I'm sorry Zabuza, but its time we ended this."

"My thoughts...exactly!" Ground out the mist nin, the words forming on their lips, speaking as one, the ground buckling against their power, their blades glowing, Aizen's a pure crackling white, whilst Zabuza's trident hissed a pale steamy blue.

"Pierce the mind-

"Uncoil the liquid heavens-

"Ban-kai! Kyōka Suigetsu!"

"Ban-kai! Nejibana!"

The bridge was enveloped in blue and white light....


	11. Wrath! Naruto's Unmatched Fury!

When the smoke cleared, it revealed two things.

Aizen stood in the exact same spot as before, but now, his zanpaktou had become a large, black curved zanpaktou, its serated jagged edge gleaming darkly in the mist, its slightly curved edge polished to the point where you could see your own reflection in it, as was the entire blade itself.

And as he saw himself in the steel, he spoke the name of his often hidden bankai.

"Dageki: Osore, kouki no maboroshi. **(Strike into the hearts of my enemies, final phantasmic illusion)**

It gleamed once in response, and he allowed himself a small smile as gazed upon his foe.

This battle was as good as won now.

Zabuza's blade, the weapon itself, or to be more precise, its pole, was a dark black, inlaid with a design of a spiraling thunderbolt, which curved round and round-

Until it reached the business end of the blade, a pure hooked white jagged edge, much like a scythe.

This blade could no longer be called a trident now, as with three words-

"Sever, Raikou Nejibana!"

The pole split, connected with a silver chain now, and everyone looked on with shock, as the missing nin now brandished not one, but TWO curved scythes, that looked to be quite sharp.

Looking to Aizen, a wicked grin spread upon his face, seen behind the bandages.

"Nice butterknife there. But now, you're finished."

Aizen smiled mysteriously, hands held out as his sides, as he jammed his zanpaktou into the ground, point first.

"Then come get me. I'll even let you have the first shot."

Zabuza was quick to take it.

Leaping forward, he was upon the captain in a moment, his form reflected in the polished zanpaktou as he leapt past it.

With sharp scrissor kick, he thrust his opponent into the sky, got high above him, spinning his blades until they were an electric hum.

This built up static electricity, and as the taichou's momentum reached its peak, he was brought up directly underneath Zabuza.

Who, releasing his scythes, allowed them to spin about his form, and laughing manically delivered, thousands of strikes, each one a bone breaking punch, in the blink of an eye.

As he came about the last hit, he grabbed the chain that held his blades together, and grasping them firmly, hooked Aizen right through the chest arm, then, hurled the long weapon upwards-

"RAIKOU DAGEKI"! **(Heavenly thunder fist)**

With a loud crack a bolt of lightning came out of the cloudy sky scorching the spiked man, then thrust him into the seas below, which exploded in steam.

Zabuza cackled madly, as he watched the two girls cry out, then he leapt upon them as well...

--

Aizen sighed as he walked past Zabuza, who was standing still, yet laughing insanely, getting odd looks from both Momo and Rukia, as the missing nin had just stopped the moment he had passed the zanpaktou.

"Fool. You lost the moment I revealed Kyoka Suigetsu's true form."

As if to explain, he gave the details.

"My shikai shows you what _I _want you so see, but my bankai, it traps you in the ultimate illusion, a dream that is so real, that your mind never sees the flaws, for there are none."

He taps the hilt of his blade, then grips it, as the dark onyx shimmers.

"It takes your ultimate fantasies, and makes them a reality, a perfect dream world=

"But-

He pulled out Maboroshi.

"A dream can easily become a nightmare, and in my bankai-

Witha a lightning fast motion, he waved the blade about, then cut a gash down Zabuza's chest, a thin one, but that was all that he needed, as dark crimson dripped down upon the stone.

"A nightmare can kill."

--

(Illusion)

The bloodbath that he was reveling suddenly comes to and end, with Haku standing before him.

"Haku? Did you kill that brat?"

She doesn't answer, she just makes a handseal.

He is suddenly bound, shackled to the stone by chains of ice, the cold unfeeling frost creeping up his arms, then his entire body, until he is frozen solid, up to his neck, and unable to move

"What is this?!"

She roughly yanks the blade out of his hand, no longer in bankai-

One sentence escapes her lips.

"I hate you."

"URK!"

And rams it through his chest.

--

Naruto scowled, as Haku refused to emerge from the safety of her mirrors, hiding in the protective dome, lest his bankai, which had enveloped the entire inside, shred her apart.

She attempts to strike, but the petals angrily buzz at her the moment she emerges, and seconds later, her feet are bloodied and cut, before she hastily withdraws back into her protective mirrors.

His eyes scowl, his mouth is set in a grim line.

"COWARD! Come out!"

No answer.

She knows she cannot win, she has no hope against this.

She lunges, throwing her needles towards Momo, on the outside, in an attempt to distract him-

(Real world)

"GAH!" Roars Zabuza, as he feels the pain explode in his mind and body suddenly drops to the ground, cast out of the illusion, and falling to the floor.

A wall of petals, rise, and cover Momo, shielding her, much to Haku's dismay.

Her eyes widen, and she gasps, as a

_'Zabuza-sama!'_

Yet, in her lasp of concentration, she falls out of the mirrors, and Senbonzakura seizes her, whilst Naruto's face is twisted in rage, the petals bringing his captive to him

She went after Momo!

This thoughht, screams through his mind, over and over again, until she is less than a foot from him.

His voice is eerily quiet, he is beyond angry now, he is downright pissed.

"Before you die-

He reaches up to her face.

"Let's see-

He begins to pull.

"Who's behind the mask!"

With a sharp yank, the face covering is sent flying, and almost as if in slow motion, it stops, and falls to the ground, as the petals suddenly swarm upon her, cutting, lacerating, maiming, as she screams out in pain, he revels in the suffering of his enemy-

Until her face is seen, amongst the blossoms, hauntingly familiar.

His eyes go wide with horror, and he relents, dispelling the blossoms back, with but a thought.

"H-Haku?!"

She coughs up blood, the ghost of a smile on his face.

"Well...done, Naruto...

"Why?! You're the....

She coughs up blood, more violently now.

"You are strong...Stronger than I could ever be. I am...glad to have fallen...to you...

He shakes his head, beginning to tremble, and shake violently, horrified at what he has just done,.

Her eyes drift closed, her breath's growing fainter by the moment, as her jutsu fades, his bankai dispelling, as Senbonzakur remerges from the ground, his will to weak to maintain their union.

"Oh god, oh god....

---

Aizen tsk's as he stands over Zabuza's broken form, which still struggles to rise.

"Enough. You are beaten-

Clapping, drawing his attention away.

"Indeed he is-

Gatou, and his bands of thugs emerge from the mist, the leader grinning evilly.

Looking to the dome, he sees the dying Haku, in Naruto's arms.

"Oh, and you killed the bitch to. I'd thank you for that-

He shrugs, as Zabuza gets to his feet, barely able to stand from the physical and mental torture he has endured.

"But you're all gonna die here, so what's the point?"

Naruto puts two and two together, and suddenly the sound of shattering glass rings through his head.

_'Its...his fault..._

Then louder.

_'ITS HIS FAULT!'_

Red light, suddenly shatters the dome, in the shape of a fox head, a sick and warped power has risen, one the world has not seen for fourteen years.

Gatou steps back, fearing for his life, as Naruto sets Haku down, the red light swirling around him sinisterly, coiling slowly, round and round again, changing the features of its host.

**"I'll never forgive you...**

The ground buckles, as his normal hand clenches into a fist.

**"NEVER!"**

The businessman took a startled step backwards as the light enveloped Naruto swaying slowly back and forth in the mist, his red eyes bellying the ferocity that now gripped his very soul.

_'What the hell is he?!'_

Naruto slowly gnashed his teeth together, in mild pain, as his canines elongated, slowly changing into wicked fangs.

Flexing his hands, he could feel his fingernails sharpening, until they could no longer be called such, now mor deadly claws, than mere skin upon his hands.

Clenching them into fists, he pierced the skin of palms-

Which healed instantaneously, despite the blood dripping down upon the stone, as the changes neared the final stages.

The whisker marks upon his face deepened, changing from mere slits, to large deep furrows upon his face, his eyes narrowing dangerously his heart rate quickening with a sickening rush of adrenaline.

Rukia paled, and Momo swallowed nervously.

"Naruto...

His short blond hair...roughened, for that is the best way to describe it, as it warped from spiky tame hair, to wild and unruly, sticking out in every direction.

The blood-lust stirred deep within him, so great, that he had no chance of staving it off for another second.

His voice was not his own, no longer calm and cool, but filled with wrathful fury, as the Kyuubi, looking through the eyes of Naruto, surveyed the changes which he had wrought.

With a scream, he leaps forward, seeing red, and nothing but, as the coward moves to hide behind his men who brashly draw their weapons, unaware of their own peril.

**"YOU ARE FUCKING DEAD!"**


	12. I Need You!

**Get ready for the brawl of a lifetime, an emotionally charged chapter, and behold, MOMO'S BANKAI!**

He was on them like a red hurricane, fierce and relentless, showing no mercy, no quarter, just pure, raw, destructive power.

His first target was a large, bald, heavyset man, who was now swinging a rather large axe down towards his head-

Which impacted as his armored arm, that of Zorro caught it, with a loud CARUNCH!

The man grinned, thinking that he had gotten his target, but he paled as the massive axe began to crack, until its dual edges just crumbled into dust, leaving only the massive handle.

**"Is that all ya got baldy**?" Growled the blond, and flames began to leak through the ridges upon the zanpaktou, headed towards its jaws, and the jinchuuriki bore a wicked grin as he saw the horror reflected in the eyes of 'baldy', as the entire arm was suddenly on fire, with both fire, and red chakra.

**"Scorch and Scream, Raiga, Zorro!"** **(Screaming thunder fox of flames)**

The stout man didn't even have time to scream, as a flaming shockwave erupted from Naruto, for his vocal cords were amongst the first thing to go, and so were a good ten other bandits.

Aizen covered his face as the intense heat poured out from his son, but you could see a small smile on his face as the blond rose up from the ashes, transformed.

"Incredible."

And to think, this wasn't even his _bankai_ yet.

Standing amongst the flames, Naruto was downright pissed, as Zorro now hand a line of flame jutting out from each ridge, and it had become ridged armor, growing over Naruto's shoulder, until it halted partially on his neck.

The zanpaktou was now more of a claw than a flamethrower, and as each digit ended in a wickedly hooked claw.

It was now a firey black red, and before anyone else could comment, he suddenly let out a scream, and charged forward, carving a bloody path before him, as more bandits got in his way, only to be killed in various other grotesque methods and manners.

**"GATOU! COME OUT COWARD! FACE-**

He sagged coughing out blood, as two men suddenly jammed four sets of spears into his back, thus slowing his onslaught, and laughing like imbeciles, as he turned to face them, only to be jabbed again, and again, from all sides, over and over.

Time seemed to slow, Momo's eyes went wide, as she watched her best friend buckle, her mouth opening in a silent, horrified, 0.

_'Naruto..._

He tried to rise, but another spear smote him in the gut.

_'Naruto..._

He grabbed one by the throat, and broke his neck, but others were swarming him, and-and-and-

He'd die.

_'NARUTO!'_

Something snapped.

"NOOOOOOOOO!"

She was suddenly on her feet, screaming at the top of her lungs, blade already unsheathed, and running forward full tilt, into the melee massacre that was taking place.

"BAN-KAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAI!"

Rukia's eyes went wide as the girl was suddenly enveloped in pink light...

--

Naruto saw a blur suddenly shoot past his vision, then the spears, or rather their weight was gone from his back.

"A voice, one his mind vaguely recalled...

_'Mo-mo..._

"Naruto-kun! GO!"

That word was all he needed to remind him of his purpose, and not thinking, he charged...

Leaving Hinamori to fend for herself.

Aizen shook his head, slowly began walking forward, making his intentions all too clear, and moments later, a weakened Zabuza shouldered his massive blade, and limped forward as well.

Rukia growled, and picked up her own blade, but then looked to Haku, then back to the battle, in which her sensei and Zabua had now leapt.

She thought of how disrtaught Naruto had been, then of his personal safety.

The way he was now, he'd be fine, but whoever this was wasn't going to make it unless she did something.

"Darn it...

She placed her blade over Haku's chest, and focused...

--

Naruto's face twisted in anger, and a growl rose from the back of his throat, one that made his enemies shiver, as they, or to be more precise_, no _one had ever seen him angrier than he was now.

He could hear the sounds of struggles behind him, and knew that others were fighting to stall for time, but they were not on his mind now.

That rat of a man was, as cut down one last guard, and then with a furious flash of flame from the transformed Zorro, burst out of the crowd-

And there he was.

Gatou, looking like he was about to piss his pants.

The blond grinned wickedly, as he stalked forward.

**"Payback time, bitch."**

And then was suddenly across the bridge, gripping the business man by his short neck, and easily hefting him into the air, reveling in his strangled cries for mercy, futilely clawing at the clawed hand that held him in a vise like grip.

"Please, I'll do anything...Money, power, you name it...

A thought suddenly occurred to him, piercing through all the rage and insanity.

Perhaps this fool DID have a use after all...

**"Zabuza and Haku work for you, yes?"**

Weakly, the tycoon nodded.

**"Get out your checkbook."**

Gatou drew out a thin case-

Only for Naruto to slap it away with Zorro, scorching the man's hand as he did so, and he yelped in pain, now visibly wetting himself, as Naruto's deep feral voice boomed out at him.

**"Get your REAL one out, before I splatter your freaking face all over the concrete!"**

Gatou did so, and Naruto glared at him, as he drew a pen.

**"You are to pay Haku and Zabuza the FULL amount you promised them, with TRIPLE the interest."**

"Triple?" Squeaked the sleazy slug of a man. "But that'll-

Naruto squeezed down, and drew blood, as his claws left visible bruises in the skin.

**"DO IT!"**

Hastily, he scribbled it down, then tore off the check, and handed it to the blond, who eyed it over with great scrutiny. Then, determining that it was legit, his clawed hand, that of Zorro, pocketed it.

Gatou breathed out a sigh of relief. "G-Great, now, if you'll just let me go-

A sinister laugh from the blond interrupted him, and he paled as the black claw suddenly glowed a dark orange/red.

**"Whoever said I'd let you live?"**

Gatou could only squeal like the pig he was, as it closed down around his head, and began to squeeze, slowly at first, but with never ending pressure, unrelenting, and getting worse by the second.

"You..can't do this...to me...

Naruto glared furiously, and his grip lessened for but a second-

**"Just like you _couldn't _kill Inari's father?! Just like you _couldn't _kick Haku-chan when she was down?!"**

And then the grip was back, but now ten times worse, as tycoon's eyes bulged from the pressure, and blood began to run down his face.

Naruto's brought his face close to Gatou's ear now, his voice trembling with unrestrained emotion.

**"No, you made me _kill _her you sonova bitch, and for that-**

His eyes flashed, with hate, pain and sorrow, but none of it was for Gatou, but rather, for himself, and that he had been forced to kill an innocent life.

One that had gone through the exact same hell as him.

One that _he _had extinguished.

**-I'LL SEE YOU IN HELL!"**

Seconds later, Gatou's head, and his neck, or rather, what was left of it, exploded, in a gory display of brains and crimson fireworks.

--

Momo could feel the sweat beading on her brow, as she slapped her blade over a katana, jarred it out of her opponents grasp, then twisting Tobiume in her grip, gored him in the stomach, piercing him clean through, and dropping him like a sack of potatoes, before twisting her wrists, and swatting away a hail of kunai that rained down upon her.

Her hair was now streaked with violet, and cascaded in long waves down her back, whilst her blade itself was now a long ebony staff, streaked with waves of pink upon its base, one that sported a blade at each end, and when swung, as made evident now by suddenly cutting through a man's chest-

Could split in two, becoming two separate katana's, one long, and the other short.

Yet for her, there are no physical changes, as with Naruto, who seemed an inch or so taller, and more, mature, when he used his bankai, no, she is still the same height, but her resolve has hardened, it is crystalline, her desire, her goal, it is clear.

And she will fight.

She will wage war if she has to, to reach the finish line of her dream.

Distracted, she lets out a cry when two men leap upon her, only for a dark wave of light to suddenly seize them away-

Into Aizen's zanpaktou, kicking and screaming as they are devoured whole, their bodies consumed in the light, which is then sucked into the wicked zanpaktou, never to be seen or heard from again.

The captain pasued to give her a nod, then set about aiding a wounded Zabuza, in dispatching a set of foes...

**"ENOUGH!"**

Suddenly, a giant red claw of chakra whips out, encompassing a huge portion of the bridge, and battle, interrupting it.

As it is pulled away, it has snared the sixty or so remaining bandits, their limbs and such seen kick and writhing as they try to break free-

Before the giant fox claw crushes them into fine powder, their screams silenced in but a moment, as their ashes fall to the earth.

A red blur suddenly shoots past them, and it is soaked with the stain of blood...

--

**"Is she...**

Rukia nearly jumps out of her skin, as Naruto suddenly appears behind her, his voice still deep and dark, but the malice in it is gone, he is worried, he is scared.

She shakes her head-

"I need more power. With my zanpaktou, I can slow her death, but...

She hangs her head.

"Its not enough."

And he gasps.

Suddenly, he nudges her aside, roughly.

**"Move."**

He places both hands over Haku's chest, and presses down against her breasts, ignoring the fact that this is perverted, as his digits are now soaked in her blood.

_'This has to work! IT HAS TO! Please..._

His eyes shut, and Zorro returns to its regular shikai, instead of the morphed form it obtained when supplemented by the Kyuubi's chakra.

**"Way of Healing-**

His hands suddenly pulse a dull white, and when his eyes sharply snap open, one eye is red and the other blue.

**"White Light of Hope!"**

The pulse becomes a glow, then suddenly a bright solar flare of light, as gallons of pure chakra and reiatsu are suddenly pumped into Haku's lifeless form, blinding in intensity, as all sight is cut off...

His hands are suddenly pulled away, almost by an invisible force, sharply jolted, and he does not know if he has succeeded.

The flare fades, and he is now cradling Haku in his arms.

**"Haku?"**

No response.

He begins to tremble.

**"Haku?** **Ha**-ku!"

His sapphire orbs swim with tears, as his voice returns to normal, his unusual power spent.

"Come on, wake up!"

The water falls to the floor, and upon her face.

"DAMNIT! WAKE UP!"

She does not stir, she does not breathe.

"Haku! It was an accident! I didn't-You-I-

He collapses into sobs, and buries his head in her chest, no longer stained with blood.

"No,no,no,no...This can't be happening...

He felt hands on his shoulders, unintelligible words of comfort.

"I didn't mean to...

Her body is healed, but she is not there.

She is...

--

(Haku's P.O.V.)

_Water..._

_No, not water..._

_Tears?_

_Why?_

_Why does he cry?_

_I am his enemy, yet he mourns my passing._

_We swore to fight for our dreams, even if it killed the other._

_He has won, his purpose is stronger than my own._

_I...have lost..._

_My purpose to Zabuza-sama is fruitless now, his wounds, his psyche, will likely never heal from that nightmare._

_He will fear me now, he will distance himself from me, the repercussions of that illusion will never leave him._

_Yet why, why does my enemy cry for me, and why me, of all people? _

_Do I have some...meaning to him?_

_Why do you call out my name?_

_Why?_

_Why do I feel..._

_The desire to answer?_

_The urge to respond, it overwhelms me, courses through my veins..._

_This feeling, it is..._

_So very strange, it is one I have not experienced before, this pleasant sensation, it is..._

_Warm._

_I..._

_Feel..._

_Warm..._

_I feel..._

_Wanted...._

_Naruto..._

_--_

A pair of arms suddenly seize him, desperately, fingernails digging through his tattered black shirt, and into his flesh, with an almost bruising grip, moving his head to rest over her shoulder.

His eyes go wide, and a sharp gasp is heard, air rushes through her lungs once again, as her doe brown eyes suddenly snap open, full of life once more, and full of tears.

She pushes him back a bit, staring right at him, for but a moment, and his mouth drops open in a silent 0, unable to believe what his eyes are telling him, at this very moment.

She is alive!

The tears, happy tears, ones of joy, pool, then fall freely down her face, her mouth melts into a smile, as a small hiccup escapes her.

"Naruto-kun...

His mouth works, finally words come out, and they are relieved ones.

"You're alive! I thought I-I-I-

That does it for her, his fear of her death is all she needs to know, to confirm her feelings, her desire, to stay by his side.

Abruptly, she buries her head into his chest and cries, her hot tears staining through his shirt, as she holds onto him for dear life, the sobs shaking her slender frame.

Zabuza looks on and frowns, as the blond tries to comfort her, but in the throes of her crying, she only holds to him tighter.

For that is it.

Him.

_He_ is now the reason, for her existence, for living.

Naruto...

Is now her everything.

Aizen allows a smile to creep up on his face, as he places his glasses back upon his face, and unslicks his hair, his sword returning to its sealed state seconds later, as it slides back into its sheathe, mindful of the appalled looks set upon the faces of both Rukia and Momo, who seemed to have found another competitor for Naruto's love, in the most unlikely of places.

"Welcome back, Haku."


	13. Good News? Or Pending Disaster?

**I know this chap is short, but its only acting as a filler, and when I pick it back up, they will have arrived back in the Leaf.**

(That night Tazuna's house)

Aizen silently poked his head in the door, and had to bite back a laugh, as he saw Naruto, sleeping soundly in bed.

But it was who was in bed _with _him, that made it difficult not to chuckle.

For he was not sleeping by himself, far from it.

Rukia was curled up next to him on his left, her head resting atop his, and his arm was around her waist, as if to keep her safe.

But whether he knew it or not, Haku was in the bed as well, silently dozed on his right, with her had resting on his chest.

And his other arm was draped round her neck, an action which left a small smile on her face, as she slept.

Momo, as always, slept in the same room as himself, this time at his insistence, as he knew she still held just a tiny bit of anger for Naruto, and with Haku around, things were only likely to take a turn for the worse.

Eventually, one of them would want Naruto all to herself, and it was then, that he was certain things would get ugly.

Oh yes, a catfight was acoming, and he knew it...

But for now, as he silently took a picture, then closed the door behind him, he could be assured that for now, things were peaceful.

Exactly as he had planned...

---

(Next Day Tazuna's house)

"Neh, neh, dad, have you seen Haku-chan?"

Aizen paused from his discussion with Zabuza, to spare his son a smile.

"I believe she's in the woods. She said something about picking herbs."

Zabuza, although still injured, sore and aching from his battle with Aizen, had the prescense of mind to notice the slip of paper in the boy's hand.

"Whaddya got there kid?"

At this, the blond tucked the slip of paper into his pocket, and blushed a bit.

"N-Nothing!"

After thanking his father for the info, he was gone in a flash, his haste to get gone from here, possibly even exceeding a shinigami's shunpo.

The moment the hyperactive genin was out of sight, the taichou turned back to the missing nin.

"Is that enough proof for you? He certainly seems to care about her a great deal."

Grunting, Zabuza looked away.

"And your point?"

That deceptive smile again, but this time, Aizen's eyes were cold as ice.

"My _point, _Zabuza Momochi, is that I believe it to be in everyone's best interests, especially yours, that Haku be allowed to return with us, to Konoha."

As he said 'yours' he patted the hilt of his zanpaktou, his point blatantly obvious.

Either submit to his demands, or die.

"We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, but I would prefer it to be the former.:

Momochi growled and slapped his hands down on the countertop, as if to emphasize his point.

"She'll never go with him, she swore her service to me!"

Aizen chuckled. "And it is precisely that mindset, that has driven a wedge between the two of you...

--

(Field)

The bridge was nearly finished, with Rukia and Momo on guard duty, this would be Team Zero's last day in the land of Waves, so he had to remember, to give it to her today.

"Haku-chan!" Cried the blond, as he saw her in the clearing, picking herbs just as before, still wearing that lovely pink kimon from before.

She looked up at his approach, and flashed him a warm smile, laced with just a pinch of curiosity, as at this early hour, and after yesterday's ordeal, she had expected him to sleep in.

"Naruto-kun?"

He was grinning, from ear to ear, as he knelt down beside her.

"Need some help?"

She nodded appreciatively.

"Hai.

--

(A few minutes later)

"Whew!" Groaned the blond, as he sat down on his haunches, utterly exhausted, but happy to help her with her daily duties.

"Thank you for the help, I truly appreciated it." Came her gentle reply, and he chuckled sheepishly.

"Aw shucks, it was nothing-

His eyes widened slightly, as he remembered his main reason for coming here.

"Haku-chan...here...

She arched a delicate eyebrow he gave her the small piece of paper.

"Hmm?"

He waved her on.

"Just read it."

The ice user peered at it for a moment, then her eyes went wide as she saw all the zero's, her mouth opened in a silent 0.

"This is a...check....

"Yup!" The blond replied enthusiastically. "I had Gato write it out, so-

Tears of happiness welled in her eyes.

With this much money, Zabuza's lifelong goal would be that much easier for him to reach-

Only then did she notice that it was made out to her as well.

No one had ever done such a nice thing for her.

Naruto noticed her tears, and looked confused.

"Eh? Haku-chan, why are you crying?"

She laughed softly, then whiped away the tears with her arm, to suddenly plant a kiss on his cheek, one that made him blush a deep dark, shade of crimson red.

"I'm just happy. Really, _truly_ happy."

He stiffened, as her arms encircled him, but relaxed seconds later, as she let him go.

"Thank you."

"Eh?"

A small giggle, then she rose.

"Well then, shall we head back?"

He nodded numbly, whilst inwardly, his mind was racing, as she helped him to his feet.

_'Gah, girls are WEIRD..._

_--_

(Following day)

"EH?!" Gaped Naruto in awe, as Aizen told him the news, drawing several concerned looks, from Momo, Rukia, and Haku, as they silently ate their breakfast, whilst the captain had taken his son off to one side to tell him the news-

That Haku would be going back to the Leaf with them, at Zabuza's 'insistence'.

Only Aizen knew that the matter had been forced.

Yet, the look on the blonde's face was purely priceless, and though it only lasted for a second, before he scampered over to Haku, to tell her the knews, the shinigami knew he would remember it for a long time to come...


	14. Time off & a New Threat? Chunin Exams!

**Hehehehe...I have been wanting to try the following scenes out 4 ages. Enjoy! And please R&R 'Who Am I?' cuz its one of the fics im working the hardest on! Oh, and the third team member of team seven, Shiro, is my OC!**

(Naruto's house)

"Neh, neh, dad, why are just me and Momo going back to Soul Society?" Pestered a curious Naruto.

The captain smiled mysteriously, as he patted his son on the head.

"It's a surprise."

--

(Soul Society)

The blond felt his jaw drop, as he looked at the lieutenant armband, then to his father.

"No way."

Aizen nodded once, then tied it around the boy's arm, then took the other, and tied around Momo's, who looked equally surprised.

"_Way_. You're both lieutenants in the 5th division now, and as such, you are under _my_ supervision."

The two looked to each other, and despite the fact that Momo wanted to stick out her tongue out to the him, Naruto's smile was contagious, and she soon found herself giggling, whilst he was happily crowing that he was one step closer to his lifelong dream, both of being the Hokage, _and _becoming a shinigami captain.

She just couldn't stay angry with him, no matter how hard she tried.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Came a silky smooth voice, and immediately, the two genin quieted, as Gin Ichimaru walked in on them.

Aizen sighed, the two just refused to warm up to Gin, and Naruto had said on many an occasion, that he found the man to be quite creepy.

"Naruto, Momo, why don't you two run along and see what Captain Kenpachi's squad is up to?"

At this they both perked up, and were gone from the room in a second.

Gin shook his head and chuckled.

"I really don't understand why you're trying to play peacemaker between those two."

Aizen shrugged. "He's my son. It's necessary that I keep him safe and happy."

Gin sat down, and crossed his legs.

"But that's gonna become a hassle pretty soon, right?"

His fellow captain nodded, and pushed the glasses up on his face.

"Regretfully so, but it is for the best...

---

Zaraki scowled, as he rounded the corner, and saw Naruto sparring with Ikkaku, whilst Momo was engaged in combat with Yumichika.

_'The hell is this?'_

Both teens were winning, quite easily, much to his dismay.

Naruto was fighting like a madman, and had yet to even release his zanpaktou, but Ikkaku had already activated his own, and was barely able to hold back the determined blond, whose blades seemed to be everywhere at once, and Hozukimaru just couldn't keep up blocking, AND go on the offensive at the same time.

Momo however, had released her bankai, and with her chained blade staff, constantly separating and splitting it, then snapping it back together.

The end result was a totally random style, that left her opponent unable to guess her next move, and therefore, as a result, she was easily overwhelming Yumichika, who already had a cut on his left shoulder, and with his own shikai released, it was only natural that he have a disadvantage against a bankai.

"Burst!"

-And was just now knocked out by a particularly dense wave of reitsu, that stemmed from her weapon just before she snapped both halves together, and swung down with enough force to KO the narcissistic man in one blow.

Yachiru, who as always, clung to Kenpachi's shoulder, clapped as Momo's spin took her from the knockout blow, to Naruto's side, and together, they worked as one, against Ikkaku, who now found himself hard-pressed to defend himself-

Well, a fight was a fight, wasn't it?

The bloodthirsty man looked to Yachiru.

"Get off."

She did so, and before she had even landed on the ground, he had drawn his own zanpaktou, and with a burst of spiritual pressure, made the two teens aware of his presence.

Ikkaku took note as well, and was quickly smote a knockout blow by Naruto, who just lashed out with one foot, and kicked him where it hurt.

As he fell, the blond moved a tad to the right, smiling cheerily, as Momo followed suit a second later

"Allright! We get to fight Zarak-taichou!" The blond crowed, he had been wanting to fight Kenpachi for ages, ever since he got his zanpaktou, but never had the powerful taichou ever accepted his challenges-

Now here he was, drawing his blade before he was even asked?

Momo took point, whilst Naruto stepped back a bit, and planted Senbonzakura into the ground.

He wanted a fair fight, and though he could feel her pain at being left out of a fight, he promised his zanpaktou that this was the only time he would not use her in combat.

Instead, Zorro sang out, its flames molding into a blade, much like he had done when he fought Zabuza.

With one swing, he carved a swathe of flames around him.

"Okay, let's go Momo!"

--

(Five minutes later)

This man was a monster.

He had no chance of cutting him in his current state, at least not without Senbonzakura, whom he could hear in his head crying, quite upset at not being used, when she was clearly the stronger of the two zanpaktou.

_It's not fair. Why does Zorro get to have all the fun? Why do _I _get left out? _She sniffled, and due to the fact that Naruto had briefly stopped to listen to her complaints-

He was unable to intercept the hard right slash that smacked into his guard, and knocked him for a loop.

"DANG!" Cried Naruto, as he fell back on his haunches, panting heavily, whilst Momo was already down on one knee, and out of breath as well.

Kenpachi smoothly sheathed his blade, and paid no heed to the fact that the blond didn't want to stop yet.

"Pfft. Come back when you're stronger, gaki."

Naruto grit his teeth, but smirked, as the captain walked away.

"Next time, next time I _will _cut you, Zaraki Kenpachi."

The taichou looked over his shoulder, and exposed his teeth in a vicious grin.

"We'll just see about that then, won't we?"

Weakly, the blond gripped Senbonzakura's hilt, and the moment he did, her cries of sadness abruptly changed into peals of joyous laughter, glad to be back at his side again.

Momo looked at her B.F.F. in concern, as he was bleeding slightly, as he had received a sharp blow his right wrist, and it was bleeding quite badly

"Here let me heal it-

"Ow!" He jerked his hand away, as it stung, just to touch.

She would not be dissuaded so easily.

"Hold still!"

"Ow!Ow,ow,ow,OW!" He howled, as the pain was nigh unbearable, just when she touched his hand for some reason, he felt like he was on _fire_.

"You're making it worse!" She chided, as she tried to hold him down, but he was stronger, and broke free of her grip, now defensive.

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Not!"

"TOO!" She screeched, which only served to make things worse, as that made him think she was going to torture him.

Finally, after much whimpering and struggling, she finally got him to stay put, after promising to buy him ramen.

Like a mother would, she wagged one finger at him, as she sat him down on a nearby bench, taking a seat beside him, seconds later.

"I mean it. You budge one _inch_, and no noodles."

He whimpered, but held out hand, looking away from the blood, which made him turn white, just to think of.

"Just hurry! It really _hurts_!"

She shushed him, and placed her hand atop his.

Focusing, a green glow poured out of her fingertips, and under the soft steady pulsing and with a soft green glow, his hand healed, but he remained silent, even when the cut closed.

Suddenly, he stopped whimpering, and she thought he was better, but upon trying to pull her hand away, found it to be stuck for some strange, inexplicable reason.

"Naruto-kun?"

He was looking down, and her eyes followed his...

Her fingers were interlaced with his own.

"Hey...

"Yeah?" She found herself answering, as the heat rushed to her face.

"This feels, kinda nice...He murmured, and instinctively squeezed her hand, just a little.

She blushed, a pale red, and looked away.

"Na-Naruto-kun?"

"Y-yeah?" He stammered, suddenly feeling short of breath, like he was in a sauna, his heart was pounding like a drum, and he just couldn't talk right.

Forcing herself to remain conscious, Hinamori meekly looked up at him, only now aware of just how close she was to him-

How close her _lips _were...

"There's...There's something I've been meaning to tell you-

"Oh! There you two are! Hinamori-san, Naruto-kun!" Called a voice, spoiling the moment.

But that was all it took for the blush to return with a vengeance.

"EEP!"

Immediately, she turned a bright pink, and yanked her hand away, her back to him, and tenting her fingers nervously, as none other than Izuru walked up to them, and upon observing the blushes upon the young teens faces, scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Erm...Did I interrupt something?"

"N-nothing!" Stammered Naruto, whilst Hinamori was now glaring _viciously _at the poor lieutenant, who had accidentally ruined her entire day now, and put her in a terrible mood, as the bashful man explained that it was time for them to head back...

--

(Day later)

Naruto heard a loud shout, and of course, was rather curious about it.

Momo and Rukia had gone back to Soul Society for a bit, and his dad was away on business, so he was looking for something to distract him from boredom, until the Chunin exams came, and by then, Momo and Rukia would be back.

As for Haku, gah, the girl had gone _shopping _of all things, and there was no way he was being dragged along for that.

What he found was, Sakura chasing poor Konohamaru, who was running for dear life, and quickly losing ground to the angry kunoichi.

Jumping down from the roof where had been resting, he sprang from building to building to prevent a massive bruising on the gaki's part.

Poor boy, he must have said something stupid about Sasuke, and now he was in danger of being trampled by one VERY angry fangirl...

--

Yet as he rounded a corner, he suddenly found himself facing a standoff with two Sand Ninja, one of whom sported weird face paint, what looked like a cat ears cap-

And held the Hokage's grandson up in the air, by the scruff of his neck, as Sakura stammered an apology.

He was about to say something, when a lad appeared, and snatched the boy back, much to the sand nin's annoyance.

Upon further inspection, the youth was tallish, looked to be around fifteen, had deep red eyes, spiky silvery hair streaked with blue, and a kind face.

That is, until he glared at the one sand nin who had grabbed Konohamaru.

His attire was odd, and though he wore a leaf headband, he had armor all over his body, much like that of an Anbu, but the most garish item of his outfit, was the silvery cape hung about his shoulders.

"That wasn't nice." His voice, **(Inuyasha's voice but its NOT him) **rang out pleasantly, but the look in his eyes was that of cold steel.

"Sh-Shiro-kun!" Sputtered Sakura, as her teammate set down Konohmaru, who quickly got behind the youth.

"Pfft. Who cares if it was nice or not? He got what he deserved." Snapped back the sand nin, whilst the other, a girl, still remained silent.

Having heard quite enough of this, Naruto stepped out from behind the corner, trying to make himself look as threatening as possible, and succeeding in part, as the two foreign ninja glared at him.

"I care, for starters."

"Yeah so what-

He winced as a rock suddenly pelted his face, thrown by Sasuke, who stood atop the tree tossing another up and down.

"Same here."

Growling the tattooed boy reached for the bundle on his back.

The girl gasped. "Kankuro, you're not really going to use Crow here are you?!"

Said nin smirked-

"Kankuro, that's enough." A voice rang out, and everyone but Naruto froze, as a cloud of sand obscured their vision-

Revealing a girl, with gourd on her back.

She had long, smooth red hair, that was tied into a ponytail behind her back, and she too sported a Suna headband, but hers was tied onto the strap of her gourd, which, upon closer inspection, was were the sand was coming from, as she held a cork in one hand.

She cast a glare at Kankuro.

"You should know better, brother."

Immediately, the boy even though he was clearly older than her, backed off.

"Sorry Gaara, I wasn't thinking!"

Naruto sniffed, as an odd scent permeated the air, but what was it...

_'Blood.' _The answer came to him, and his eyes narrowed.

_'Her gourd, it stinks of...blood..._

THAT was anything but good.

Her green eyes, which had bags under them, immediately fixated on Naruto, who glared right back at her, both practically _oozing _killer intent.

She had yet to hit puberty, but from the looks of it, she was probably well on her way.

"Who are you?" She asked evenly, arms crossed over her chest, which was a modest BB cup, and he answered in kind.

"Uzumaki Naruto. You?"

"Gaara of the Sand."

Sakura asked the stupid question why they were here, and an annoyed Naruto gave it, but as he finished, he could still feel Gaara's eyes on him.

"Uzumaki. I look forward to-

She licked her lips, slightly, her inner demon roused by his presence, and screaming at her to kill him, right here and now.

With great effort, she was able to persuade it otherwise, insisting that they save the best for last.

-Fighting you."

Something in him stirred, the Kyuubi mainly, and though he struggled to keep it under control, none of the strain showed on his visage.

"Same here, Gaara-chan."

Taken aback by the suffix, a light blush, an angry one, or not, she could not be sure, tinted her face, even as he smoothly turned round and walked away, raising his hand in goodbye.

"It should be fun."

And then, tensing his legs, he sprang away, onto a rooftop, and was lost from sight.

Gaara turned round as well, taking the lead from her elder siblings, but inwardly, her mind was racing.

_'What is this feeling?'_

Why did he exude this aura, this...confidence?

Why did he seem assured of his own existence, his purpose, enough to make her question her own?

Suddenly, she felt the nearly insatiable desire to kill, so as to not think of this strange sensation, one that made her question her very reason for existence as a person.

Shaking her head, she cleared herself of such thoughts, and her sand lashed out a nearby sparrow, crushing it to death in its powerful grip.

Dark blood stained the sand, and made her feel momentarily at ease-

Until that strange feeling erupted within her again, this time stronger than before, and twice as persistent.

Growling, she hastened her pace, ignoring Temari's and Kankuro's shouts to wait up, or asking her where she was going.

She'd ask him, that blond brat, when he lay dying at her feet.

THEN she would be at peace.

Or so she thought...


	15. Calm Before the Storm

**Kawai! THis was such a cute fluffy chapter to write! I can't wait to write the date scene!**

(Naruto's house)

"Naruto-kun?"

"Hmm?" He murmured, not really paying attention, as he turned to the next page in his book, an early birthday present, given to him by his father.

At first glance, it looked to be a basic book, big enough to be able to read the letters, yet small enough to carry around, and made portable.

The frame itself was silver, its binding a fierce yellow gold, as were the tips of its pages, whilst the actual cover exposed a rather daring combination of silver and grey.

It was called a _Zankide_, or basically, a guide on almost every zanpaktou known towards man and shinigami, as collected by Aizen, and that was saying a LOT.

It even had a subsection on Kidou spell's, their incantations, how to perform them without the lengthy chant, and so on.

He was currently reading up on his own Zanpaktou, or to be more precise, his and Captain Kuchiki's, as the knowledge here suggested that the 5th squad taichou had somehow perfected his zanpaktou, to the point where he could use a third form, something called _senkei_, but as to what the next level was, there was nothing but a question mark.

But the odd thing here was, that whilst he had seen the noble's zanpaktou released but once-

He had received the distinct impression that his and the Senbonzakura _he _wielded, the one that was more a friend, a close nakama to him, then an actual tool for destruction, were worlds apart in personality, ability, and appearance.

Personally, he thought he got along better with _his _Soul Slayer, than Kuchiki-taichou did, as he had often seen the captain shoot him many a glare, whenever he was seen, and behind him, he could often see the outline of a woman, glaring at him in kind.

She, the one who _had _to be Byakuya's zanpaktou, looked like an older version of _his _Sebonzakura, yet at the same, time, almost exactly like Rukia-chan, except maybe a few years older?

Maybe he really _was _jealous, cause they had the same Soul Slayer?

_Really? _Senbonzakura, or as he had nicknamed her, Senna, inquired, her sweet voice rebounding end over end in his skull.

A prideful smile tugged at his lips, as he glanced down at the blade still strapped to his waist, even though they were safe at home, Senbonzakura, even though she was a zanpaktou _hated _being seperated from him, even during sleep he could feel her flitting about his mind in his dreams, whilst Zorro could go for days without use, and not even comment on it.

_'Who knows?'_

Her happy giggles echoed endlessly in his mind, practically bouncing over the walls with uncontained energy.

With a small laugh, he allowed her the freedom of movement.

"Scatter."

He didn't even have to call her name anymore, but he still did anyways, as in his opinion, calling someone by their name meant they were important as a _person _and not a tool of war.

But that was just his way of thinking, regarding zanpaktous...

"Senbonzakura."

_YAY!_

Immediately, the blade that contained her soul blew away into many petals, soon forming a small cloud, and with a happy laugh, she swept past him, swirling about through the air, in a graceful dance, as the dim sunlight reflected of her petals, and shone light haphazardly about.

Mildly intrigued, Haku looked up from what she was doing, as the petals swung from one end of the kitchen, then to the living room, back again, in a random pattern, playfully almost, and distracting her from what she had been trying to say earlier, as the petals swirled about her cookbooks, and flipped at a few pages, in almost childlike curiosity.

Peals of innocent laughter sounded end over end, as Haku shooed her away from the expensive text and the zanpaktou soon distracted herself again-

Via swirling around Naruto's head in a harmless flurry, until his eyes spun and he got dizzy, nearly fainting from the motion, and annoying him slightly.

"Gah, Senna-chan why in blazes are you so happy?"

_The Chunin Exams are coming up! _She chirped happily, as the petals moved from his face, to coil on the ground, and slowly form a translucent image of the girl, seen only to him.

"And?"

She giggled, full of life and laughter as always, performing a small spin on one heel, whipping her kimono and long hair loosely about her, arms out and raised from her sides, to keep her balanced.

_And that means we can use bankai again!_

A bright smile shown on her face as her spin slowed to a halt, and she grinned widely at him.

_Its been so LONG since last time, hasn't it, Naruto-kun?_

Ah yes, she had taken to using the affectionate suffix for him as well.

At this, he blushed a pale red, remembering the intamite physical contact upon releasing her second state, practically a fusion of two entities...

The power they had wielded together, it had been _incredible, _no, unstoppable, as in that brief moment of time, there was nothing she-no _they _could not capture, nothing that could escape their deadly grip.

And then there had been Zorro.

The zanpaktou was quite perplexed as to the form he had suddenly taken in mid combat, but try as they might, the warrior could not access the form he had obtained on the bridge.

True, the power was _there_, but it felt like it was locked away, and then there had been those _eyes..._

Just thinking about that energy made him shiver a bit.

"Y-Yeah, I guess so...

In the abscence of Rukia and Momo, he and Haku had been left to their own devices, which consisted primarily of training, and when they grew bored of that, just hanging around the house-

Or in Haku's case cooking, as he sniffed at the air, and a rich aroma wafted past his nose, not the smell of ramen, but of...

Soup?

He couldn't be sure.

"Something smells good...

Senbonzakura yawned, and stretched her arms, as Haku rose from her seat in the kitchen.

_Kay then, I'm gonna take a nap! _

The blond reddened even further, as she suddenly skipped forward, and gave him a quick hug, before dissapearing from view, back into petals, then back into her sealed state.

_Bye Naruto-kun!_

Her hand, suddenly on his shoulder, jarred him slightly, pleaded for his attention and her pleading voice, soft and delicate in his ear, was also an insistent cry for him, as she did _not _like being ignored, especially when she had him to herself.

"_Na-ru-to_-kun."

Licking his finger, he turned down the corner of one page, before flipping to another one a second later, then closing the book.

He looked up into her delicate, doe brown eyes, and she was visibly pouting.

No longer was she wearing the outfit she had on the bridge, the moment she had come here to the leaf, she had thrown the thick and heavy robes away, in favor of her current outfit..

Thanks to the money given her by Gatou, which was unbelievably large, she had now selected an entirely different wardrobe, over the past few days, whilst the Leaf Village geared up for the Chunin Exam preparations.

Her hair was no longer held back in a bun, but instead, the rich, dark auburn brown hair hung long and loose down her back, portions of it hanging over her shoulders, and falling across the dark blue long sleeved halter top she wore, which fit snugly against her B-cup chest.

Throw in a pair of dark navy blue jeans, and the autumn outfit was complete.

Chuckling sheepishly, he leaned out of the chair, scratching the back of his head nervously as he rose.

"Sorry Haku-chan, I'm just really enjoying this book."

She planted both hands on her hips, but was clearly not angry, as look on her face melted seconds later, into one of warm kindness.

And for good reason.

The blond winced. "What?"

He _knew _that look, and it only meant trouble whenever she gave it to him.

"Can we go out on a date?" The ice user asked sweetly, and he did a double take at this.

"A d-date? W-What for?"

Despite himself, he had to admit that he had never gone out with a girl in public before, at least as far as going places and etc.

She blushed a bit.

"Well, we've been working so hard lately, and we've been inside for so long-

She tilted her head to one side, and closed her eyes as she smiled, before opening them again

"I just thought a change of pace would suit us."

**_US? _**Quipped Zorro, as he observed the exchange, amusement sparkling in his green eyes-

**_She certainly is a feisty lass-_**

Whilst Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin, badly startled from the unexpected visit in his head.

_'And where the blazes have you been?' _

**_Sleeping. _**Came a yawning reply, as the spirit stretched, and then scratched at the black anime style fox ears on his head, his fingers running loosely through his rough black hair, and his long bushy tail, that emerged from his lower back, swaying back and forth lazily, as he blinked the sleepiness away.

_'I didn't know Soul Slayers even COULD sleep.' _The teen growled back, annoyed at the laid back nature of his zanpaktou.

Yet the spirit was unfazed by the harsh comment.

**_Bah, don't be so grouchy._**

'_Who said I was grouchy?!'_

**_Get out for a little bit, have some fun with_ your _girl...._ **interrupted the the human/fox hybrid, then promptly withdrew himself back to his onyx coated blade, before the jinchuuriki could question his emphasis on 'your'.

"So can we?" Haku pleaded, pouting again, and just like that, all social discomfort turned to mush for him, and he found himself nodding.

"O-Okay, any place in particular?"

"How about a movie-

-And pizza tonight?" He finished, as his stomach growled, pleadingly, the aroma of her soup ripping hunger pangs through his stomach, and it was only around 12:00 P.M.

This date stuff wasn't so hard after all!

Her face lit in a smile, one that seemed to outshine even the sun itself, although the bright orb had chosen to hide itself beyond dark and gloomy clouds today.

This day was likely her last chance for some alone time with _her _Naruto-kun, before those two shinigami girls and his father came back from wherever they went, and then the Chunin Exams would be here.

Alas, since she was only recently instated as a Leaf nin, and despite some major arm twisting from Aizen, the Hokage had refused to allow her to participate, unless of one the Leaf nin should drop out before the Exams began.

And that was _highly_ unlikely.

She'd be damned if she passed up this last chance to be with him, even if it was for only a few hours.

"Sounds great, now lets have some lunch.

She walked over to the soup she had been stirring, and ladeled some into a bowl for him, his mouth now watering, prompting another heartwarming smile from the ice user, as she fixed hersel a bowl as well.

"Would you care to try some of my soup?"

His eager nod was all the answer she needed...


	16. The Secret

**Merry Christmas! Here's a nice fluffy chapter, and expect to see plenty more over the next few days! Happy Holidays everybody!**

The two walked out of the movie theater, each wearing a rather goofy grin on their face-

Their hands gripping the others, fingers tightly interlaced, causing both of them to blush.

Naruto flushed more so, as Haku suddenly nuzzled her head into his shoulder, on the way home.

"I had a great time, Naruto-kun."

"Y-Yeah, me too, Haku-ch-chan." He sputtered, the sensation of her against him, well it made it REALLY hard to think.

"We should do this again sometime." She murmured, breath steaming out before her, in the chilly air.

Oddly enough, she seemed quite comfortable, even though he was freezing his butt off.

"Yeah...

He was aware of her releasing his hand...

Then her lips, tender, supple, and oh so _very_ very soft, suddenly left him dazed, even as she pulled away, smiling sweetly.

"Ready to head back?"

He nodded dumbly, before she pulled him along with one hand.

Both were happy.

xxx

He could feel a wave of killer intent directed at him, so much that he woke up.

"Urgh...

Gingerly, he disentangled himself from Haku, slipped on a black hoodie jacket.

Sliding open the door, he locked it behind him, then changed into a walk, as if he was going for a jog.

He could feel eyes on him, following him, as he made a discreet effort to maintain some distance between himself and his abode, lest Haku be caught in the fray.

At last, he stopped, in the residential district, when the killer intent spiked.

"All-right, I know you're here-

"KILL!" Shouted the red haired girl as she stood there with an insane smile on her face, appearing before him in a whirl of sand

Sand poured out of the gourd as it swarmed her.

Growling in annoyance, the blond pulled out Zorro, blasted a few heat waves-

To his shock, the sand surrounding the mysterious boy blocked the shots, shrugging off the heat as if it were nothing.

Naruto fired again and again with the same result.

"D-Damn! I can't hit her!"

He suddenly felt his leg get grabbed by the sand and was thrown by it.

Landing on the floor he looked up and at the girl.

"DIE!!"

Yelping in surprise, the Kyuubi vessel dodged another burst of sand relying on his quickness.

"**Brat you don't know what your getting into! I recognize that scent anywhere, it's Shukaku!" **Said Kyuubi talking to him in his mind.

"Who?!"

"**Shukaku, a tailed beast and the spirit of a corrupt monk, he's the weakest of the tailed beasts but he's the most insane. The girl your facing is apparently his vessel! He recognizes me and wants to kill us!**

He dropped flat to the floor, as a jet of gravel roared over his head.

"**You have to listen to me! Let me lend you my chakra! It's the only way you'll be able to survive!"**

"No! I refuse to become a monster again! I'd rather die!"

Naruto dodged another torrent of sand and kept on moving.

Without his Senbonzakura, he had no idea how he was gonna survive this.

But he refused to become a monster.

He had to find a way to keep the girl from using her sand.

"Gaara!"

Naruto saw a man, half his face covered appear in front of her trying to calm the possessed teen down.

"Gaara, please calm down! Your letting Shukaku take control! You'll destroy the entire city if you keep this up!"

"Get out of my way Baki!" Shouted Gaara preparing to engulf the man with her sand. The man stood there frightened when Naruto pushed him out of the way.

"W-What is she?!" Asked Naruto to him who stood up.

"She's the Kazekage's daughter, by our lord's order the Shukaku was sealed up inside her as an unborn baby, she hates everything that's alive due to the fact she can never enjoy peace." Explained Baki to him.

"**Blood! I must have the fox's blood!" **Shouted Gaara and they both noticed that it wasn't her own voice that was speaking. She then made her way towards them.

"**Brat, your up the creek without a boat or a paddle. I know you don't trust me, but you need my help. Let me give you some of my chakra and you'll be able to handle her."**

"**Blood! Blood! BLOOD! I DESIRE YOUR BLOOD!!" **Shouted Gaara in Shukaku's voice.

"Desert Coffin!" Naruto was suddenly caught and was trapped as sand wrapped around his body trapping him. Struggling in vain he noticed Gaara with a psychotic smile preparing to close her fist.

"**This is your last chance kit! Do you accept or not?"**

"_I-I accept!!"_

"Desert Fune-" Gaara was prepared to crush him when to his amazement his foe shattered the sand. He dropped down to the floor landing on all fours. Zorro again morphed upon his flesh, as red chakra began to form around his bod.

His teeth turned to fangs and his nails became claws.

He lifted up his head and faced Gaara.

"Now the battle begins!" Naruto shouted at her.

Quicker than the eye could follow Naruto was suddenly in front of her slashing out.

Gaara's sand barely managed in time to stop it.

Naruto leapt away moving at inhuman speeds.

"_W-What is this! He's moving at the speed of light!" _Thought Gaara as Naruto was little more than a blur.

Naruto slashed down at the ground with his claws and to Gaara's surprise sent a mini earthquake at her. Gaara scowled in hatred and stood her ground, sending a wave of sand at him planning on crushing him.

But again Naruto displayed quickness and moved out of the way.

Naruto was moving all around the area leaping here and there showing speed and finesse.

"What's wrong?! Can't hit what you can't catch?" Taunted Naruto to her.

Naruto again disappeared in a blur and reappeared right in front of her a claw aimed right her face.

This time he slashed her right down the right side of her face, drawing _blood_.

It was as if a spell had been lifted, fear wiped out the demon's influence.

Immediately she stiffened, looked down at her hand, lower lip trembling slightly, tears forming in her eyes, as the crimson leaked out of her right cheek.

"B-Blood...I-I'm b-bleeding!"

Skidding to a halt, Naruto could not help but feel a trace of pity, and gingerly moved to approach her

"Hey, are you all-right-

She suddenly clutched her head, tone pained, as she thrashed about.

"Get away!"

He raised his hands, placating, taking a leap of faith to drop his zanpaktou, as the red chakra left him.

_'Zorro, you had better be right about this..._

"Easy, easy, I just wanna help...

"No!"

Gaara responded with a burst of sand, that the blond leapt over.

Upon landing, he wagged a finger at her, much like a parent would, hoping to get through to hr.

"Hey! How am I supposed to _help_ if you keep doing that?!"

It seemed to work, as Gaara looked away.

Slowly, he took a few steps toward her, undoing the wrapping round his left hand, showing her the makeshift bandage.

"See? No harm no foul."

She bit her lip, as his hands passed _through _her sand, oddly vulnerable, in this rare moment of sanity.

Only one other had been this kind to her before.

But he had betrayed her!

He reached aside her hair with care, painfully aware that if provoked, she could easily crush him to a bloody pulp.

But this one seemed...

Sincere?

Yes she told herself.

**_KILL!_**

She mentally shook herself, screeching her fury at Shukaku when pressed her to kill the blond, that he would hurt her like all the rest had and would.

A quick darting glance at his caring blue eyes told her otherwise.

_NO! I WON'T LISTEN!_

**_YOU WILL!_**

_I SAID NO! NOW FUCK OFF!_

The demon went silent.

She was not THAT far gone that she would listen to him so easily, able to ignore him when needed to, but never before had there been a reason...

Until now.

His hand touched the smooth skin of her forehead, then down to her cut face, and she stiffened.

But when no pain was forthcoming, the bleeding stopped, she willed her tense body to relax, somehow holding Shukaku at bay, whereas she had been powerless to do so before.

Upon her cheek, was a gauze pad, tapped down with the bandage he had taken from his hand.

He clapped his hands as he pulled away, grinning cheerily, standing tall again.

"There we go! That should hold for a day or two, but for now, you're all patched up!"

Then he seemed to notice something.

Gaara felt that odd heat in her face again, as his eyes peered at her with great scrutiny.

"Hey...What kind of seal is _that_?"

She let out a small "Eep!" and nearly smacked him with her sand, when he lifted up the torn fabric of her shirt, just a centimeter or so, to decipher what kind of seal was used to hold the Bijuu at bay.

His fingers brushing at her stomach, made the heat in her body travel down to her pelvis, a most strange sensation indeed, for one such as her.

Baki found himself looking on in awe, as the two interacted, much like normal teens would, as if they did not know they had powerful demons sealed within them.

_'Incredible...She's actually behaving...normal!'_

The blonde's voice drew his attention.

"Hey, why does she only have a one pronged seal?"

Baki took a few steps forward.

"You're able to recognize it?"

Naruto nodded, and pulled up his hoodie, showing that his seal was likely stronger than the one she had.

"That's why she's so unstable, your Kazekage needs to give her at least a three pronged seal, if not a five prong."

It was quite odd, to see a genin this knowledgeable about a Kage level topic.

The Suna nin scratched at the back of his head.

" Kazekage-sama was only able to use a one pronged seal at the time. Even now we dare not tamper with the seal, lest Shukaku be released...

Naruto frowned, shaking his head stubbornly. "No....I don't think it will, my dad knows all about sealing."

He looked to Gaara, and idea forming in his optimistic mind.

"Hey...Maybe I can give it a try?"

She looked at him with an odd expression.

"T-Try? Try wha-

She suddenly clenched her head, crying out in pain, as Shukaku tried to take over again.

_NO! GO AWAY!_

**_FOOLISH CHILD! WHO ARE YOU TO RESIST ME?!_**

The blond gulped, as even he could tell that Shukaku wanted out.

_'GREAT! No pressure...._

He held up one hand, and grunted, as three flames, then five, flickered upon his hand, each representing a different element.

Bringing the hand back, he began a chant, just as he had read in the book...

It was a variation, intended to help, not hamper, like the original had been meant for.

"Baki, hold her still!"

Even though this child was the enemy, the jonin did as he requested.

Kazekage's orders or not, he did not take pleasure in seeing the girl like this, every day of her poor pitiful life.

Getting behind her, he nabbed the redhead in a full nelson, doing his best to ignore the pain that exploded in his limbs, as her sand lashed out at him.

"H-Hurry!"

"FIVE PRONGED SEAL REVERSE!"

Naruto suddenly lunged forward, fingers outstretched-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Gaara _screamed _as his outstretched hand burned the symbols into her flat stomach.

"OW!"

Naruto had scarcely finished the fifth symbol-

"OOF!"

When her sand leapt on him and Baki, desperate to force the source of its pain away, and colliding him with a wall.

The Jonin was knocked back, falling down, and as he did so, his head hit a metal pole, rendering him unconscious, for what would be the rest of the night.

Yet just as suddenly as it had struck, it had peeled away.

Naruto however, collapsed and fell to the street, eyes closed.

Gaara stood there a look of excitement on her face, unaware that she had just blasted her fellow jinchuuriki, and her sensei with most of her sand.

Her stomach hurt like _hell, _and steam was rising from the newly made seal...

But-

Silence...

Her eyes widened slightly.

She couldn't hear him!

Shukaku wasn't in her head!

Oh yes, she could certainly feel the raccoon, still sealed within her, but now, the insatiable blood lust, the constant desire to kill...

It was gone!

She could think!

Experimentally, she raised a hand-

And the sand moved around her, then down, up, left and right, mimicking her hands patterns.

Shaking the gourd off her back, she sighed, relieved of its weight, as it crashed to the ground with a thud upon the rooftop, not needing it with her.

Freed of the weight, she stumbled a bit, before she got used to walking again.

Slowly, she drew the sand about her feet, then allowed herself to descend down to the streets, where Naruto had landed.

Upon landing the material dispersed.

Down below the two ninjas were still.

Not moving a muscle, Gaara feared that he was dead, and angry tears began to well up in her sea-foam green eyes-

Until she saw him twitch, then groan, his voice slightly muffled, as he was speaking into the dirt.

"Ow, wha did I tell ya 'bout blastin me...

Suddenly Gaara broke the silence when she started...

Laughing?

She was slowly chuckling, giggling, and it then turned into full out laughter.

Naruto laid there as well when he too started laughing in amusement, as he got up.

He stood up with a grin and could barely control his laughter.

"See what you did? Now I can't stop laughing!"

Gaara fell backwards, holding her sides, and laughing till it hurt just to breathe.

Finally, when the mirth had died down, she got up, clumsily walked to him, as moving without the heavy weight of the gourd, left her footsteps lithe and quick, a speed she was unsused to.

She would have to change her fighting style dramatically, to be able to fight with and _without _the heavy container strapped to her back.

She reached a hand out to shake, sand encircling it lightly, and pulling his hand into the gesture of peace.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I owe you a debt I will never be able to repay."

She looked up into the starry night, smiling under the light of the full moon, something that had once driven her to madness, but was now a source of great, ethereal beauty for her to behold.

"Thank you."

He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, as she released the hold.

"No problem Subaku no Garra-

She shook her head.

"...No, I won't go by that name anymore, not from you, Uzumaki."

"Eh?"

She tilted her head to one side, thinking, slightly amazed at how readily she was adjusting to having sanity.

Nodding, she reached a decision.

"Just 'Gaara' will do. Something shone in her eyes, but it was only excitement, minus the psychotic behavior that had plagued her, only moments before.

"But I still look forward to fighting you-

-As friends, right?" He finished.

"Friends?" A sad expression marred her delicate features.

"I...have never had a friend before."

The blond was _gobsmacked, _you could tell it by the look set upon his face.

"Eh?! Not even one?!"

She shook her head, hugging herself lightly, long ponytail swaying back and forth in the chilly night.

"Once, but he died....

Again he extended his hand.

"Well...I'll be your friend then!"

She blinked, then eyed his hand with something akin to fear, afraid to take it...

Because she knew of the invasion, what she was going to do...

Would she do it?

"R-Really? No matter what happens?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"No matter what! Believe it!"

Tears welled in her eyes.

Friendship was worth more than the shit her village had given her.

So _much_ more.

"Hai, I will believe."

_'In you.'_

Her body moved on its own, and she suddenly glomped him, in a fiercely needy hug, head buried into his Leaf hoodie.

"Then as your friend, I have to tell you something."

Immediately, his eyes widened, alight with curiosity.

"A secret?"

She nodded slowly, tears starting to soak into his hoodie, before she pulled away, to look up at him.

"Hai. A very important secret...

"COOL! I love secrets!"

And so she told him.

She told him _everything..._

**And so, with one simple act of kindness, destiny is changed.**

**Aside from two troubled children, none is the wiser.**

**What unforeseen troubles will this bring?**

**Don't miss the next exciting chapter...**

_**Loss of a Loved One!** **Unexpected Betrayal!**_


	17. The Betrayal?

"Old man!" Cried Naruto, as he burst into the Hokage's office, with Gaara in tow, surprising both Anbu at watch.

Sarutobi looked up from the mountains of paper work upon his desk, actually grateful for the late night interlude upon this horrendous torture.

"Ah, Naruto, is there something wrong?"

The blond nodded violently.

"There sure is!"

He looked to Gaara, who blushed a tad.

"C'mon Gaara-chan! Tell him!"

The Suna nin bowed.

"H-Hokage-sama, what I am about to tell you is of great importance...

xxx

Sarutobi felt his draw drop, as Gaara relayed the tale, the information to which only she had been privy, due to her intense hatred of her enemies.

A hatred that Naruto had all but cleansed from her entire being.

"Ch-child, do you understand the significance of what you have just told me?"

Gaara nodded minutely.

"Gomen Hokage-sama-

Sarutobi came around the desk to clasp the girl by her shoulders, as in that brief moment, she looked about ready to cry-

And Naruto looked about ready to kill him if he sat there for another second.

"Sorry? You have no need to be sorry!"

"I-I d-don't?" Stammed Gaara, as she wiped a stray tear from one eye.

The Third shook his head empathatically.

"My dear, you have just saved our village."

He called a few Jonin, who assembled post-haste.

"I take it you have all heard?"

Each one nodded, and Naruto sighed as he saw that his father was still not amongst them.

_'Dad...where are you?'_

Gaara coughed lightly, a simple gesture, but it was enough to get his attention, thus drawing him back to the present.

-In light of this, I ask you again, will you still let your students take place in the Exam?"

A firm "Hai!" from each made it clear that all present had faith in their students abilities and techniques.

Sarutobi bid them good luck, and made them swear to remain silent.

Then he turned to Gaara.

"Now, one problem remains. What will we do with you?"

Gaara realized that once the invasion was routed, as it most certainly would be, when she did not play her part...

Her 'village' as well as Orochimaru, would likely have her hunted down and killed.

At this, pure human fear rose within her.

Seeking comfort, her arm moved of its own.

With a small whimper, she seized Naruto's hand in a deathgrip, holding on for dear life, as if to let go would kill her.

The boy flushed a deep red, and Sarutobi arched an aging eyebrow, his wrinkled lips curving up into a smile.

"I suppose we could make you a leaf nin, but to do that now would only make things worse...

"Hey!" Cried Naruto suddenly, causing both of them to jump a bit, not so much for Gaara, as just the sensation of his hand in hers...

Well, it made her feel safe.

Safe, happy...

And _loved_.

Sarutobi visibly refrained from speaking, as Gaara took an almost imperceptible side-step towards her fellow jinchuuriki.

"She can stay with me and dad!"

At this, Sarutobi **(Gah, what _is_ his last name?!) **cracked a grim smile.

True, under Aizen's care, the girl would be perfectly safe...

But the man had been acting rather strange the past few months...

Choosing to ignore it, taking it as stress from having so many kids under his roof...

The Kage let it slide.

"Very well then Naruto, until we can otherwise determine Gaara's fate, you will be charged with her safety...

xxx

Momo's eyes went wide, and she fell to her knees.

"No...

It was time to go, Rukia had already left, and she had come to check up on Aizen...

But this...

This...

How had this happened?!

She dared to look up again...

Instantly, she wished she hadn't.

Tears pooled in her eyes, swam there, until at last, they fell from her face with a steady plink-plink.

There, impaled upon a sword, _his _sword, was Aizen Sosuke, hung atop the wall, as if he was some beastial sacrifice.

His entire body was limp, and without the zanpaktou embedded in his chest, he would have likely fallen to the wooden floor below.

Aan explosion of gore stained the stone behind him, which had leaked down past his feet, and pooled down upon the floor.

His face wore a shocked expression, as if he had seen the attack coming, but at the last moment, when it was too late.

Her pained shriek echoed throughout the courts.

"CAPTAIN AI-ZE-N!"

xxx

The shinigami shook his head as he watched everyone gather around his 'corpse', surprised that Momo had the strength of will to take down his mangled illusion, before she burst into hysteric sobs, clutching him tightly, as she cried into his blood stained robe.

Silently, he sheathed his blade, as a battle commenced between her and Gin, with Izuru, who had tried to interfer, being swatted aside in a moment.

He could feel _him _approaching, and he knew he had best disapear, lest he be discovered, and his plans all come to naught but a shadow of his grand design.

"This is for the best Momo. I hope you and Naruto can understand."

His last words faded, as did he, wrapping himself in another illusion, then taking his leave, was gone, into another place entirely, one of arid sands and eternal night, until the time was right.

"And I hope you can both forgive me, for what I am about to do...

xx

(Next day, morning, rooftop)

Naruto received the letter from Rukia with trembling hands, excited, thinking that this meant his dad was on his way...

But what he read, caused him to drop the letter, then take a step backwards, a gobsmacked look set upon his face.

"N-No....

Rukia nodded sadly,

"Its true, Naruto. Momo's all torn up about it."

"Y-You mean...

She embraced him.

"...Yeah... Aizen is-

-Dead." Finished a cold voice, as Byakuya Kuchiki emerged from the portal behind Rukia, getting shocked looks from them both, as the two sprang away.

"N-Nii-sama? What are you doing here?" Asked Rukia, as her brother stared down at her with cold steely eyes.

"Yeah, I was talking to Rukia-chan!" Protested Naruto, now angry, or rather, trying to find _something_ to vent his rage on, so he could find solace, so he could be at peace with the dark whisperings that were starting to rise in his mind.

"Rukia, I have come here to issue a warrant for your arrest." Replied the Kuchiki head coldly.

Naruto's eyes went wide, and in his mind he _knew._

"What...did you say?"

"Rukia was never meant to associate herself with scum such as yourself, nor is she meant to use the forbidden, untraceable gigai she is currently in possession of." Stated Byakuya with authority.

It was him! His mind screamed!

He was the one who did it!

-Therefore, according to the laws of Soul Society, she is to be put to death." Stated the Kuchiki curtly, whilst Rukia gasped in horror.

A massive wave of killer intent suddenly flooded the air.

Like a twig, Naruto snapped.

"NO!"

He spun on one heel, pressing Byakuya back a step, as Zorro cut through the air where the clan head had been but a second ago.

Byakuya was more than happy to draw his blade in kind.

"Very well then. For aiding Rukia in her attempts to resist arrest, I hereby sentence you to the-

Naruto was all but lost to himself now, words were wasted on him.

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HER, YOU MURDERER!"

Byakuya stared at him, mildly confused.

"Murderer? I have no recollection of commiting such an act, boy."

"DON'T LIE TO ME!"

Drawing Senbonzakura from her sheathe, Naruto prepared to spring.

"You killed my dad, and now you're after Rukia!"

Bykuya frowned.

"I am merely carrying out the law. I have no intention of killing-

A lance of ice shot past him, landing at Byakuya's feet.

Haku brushed one strand of brown hair from her face, as she appeared in a flurry of ice petals, that lashed out for him, only to be swatted aside.

"Then why are you threatening Naruto-kun?" She asked sweetly, but venom was in her voice.

Byakuya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance, as Naruto prepared to release his shikai, whilst another wave of ice came after him.

That would only delay him further.

"Enough of this."

He uttered a quick chant, then Naruto and Haku suddenly found themselves bound in a six rod light prison, unable to move, much to their dismay.

Rukia gasped, drew her blade-

Byakuya got around her, then knocked her out with a sharp elbow jab to the neck.

Kneeling down, he scooped her up, blade and all.

With agonizing slowness, Naruto watched him walk to the portal.

"Be grateful that I have spared your life, children."

The door began to close.

Naruto felt the spell weaken, struggled-

And got free.

Screaming, he lunged for the portal...

"Now now, aren't we being a tad hasty?"

A sharp blow to his neck knocked him out, just as Haku's spell broke free.

The 'rescuer' if he could be called such, chortled to himself as he slung the blond over his shoulder.

"Impulsive as ever...

Warily, she eyed the man.

He was blond, wearing traditional Japanese wooden sandals, a bucket hat that hid his eyes, as well as a plain green outfit. He leaned on a cane, but it seemed he could easily walk without it, as straightening up, he slid the stick into his sash

The sound of his sandals hitting the rooftop dirt echoed dully throughout the mind of the ice user, and again her gaze fell to his cane, which was probably a hidden weapon of sorts.

"Who are you?"

The man scratched the back of his head.

"Well, guess there's not much of a point in hiding it."

He took a step towards the rooftop stairwell, that would lead down into the house-

But Haku blocked his way.

"Then tell me...

Looking him over, she said the first thing that came to mind.

...Hat n' Clogs."

The fellow nearly facefaulted upon hearing the nickname used again.

"You're the second person to call me that!"

Haku would not be dettered.

"Your name."

As if he had not heard her, the bedragled man went off on an entirely new topic.

"Well, the first _was_ a girl so-

Haku threw an ice dagger at him, knicking his cheek, and drawing a thin line of blood.

"Tell me your name...

He gave a small yelp, as a knife grazed his groin.

...or next time, I won't miss."

"You're a feisty one, just like her...Mumbled the man under his breath, but when Haku summoned another ice dagger to make good on her threat, the blond waved his hands apologetically.

"Okay okay!"

He gave a small bow, trying his best not to dislodge the unconcious Naruto from his shoulder, as he rose.

"Urahara Kisuke."

At this, a small smile tugged at Haku's lips, as she twirled the deadly kunai about one finger.

"Now we're getting somewhere."

"Perhaps we could take this inside?"

Haku led the way, but took Naruto from him before doing so.

With surprising strength for one her age, she laid her boyfriend down upon the couch, the promptly turned to face Urahara, who had started in on a gallon of ice cream, taken from the nearby freezer.

Using her icy abilities, she froze the desert solid, until his spoon bounced off the rock hard substance with a clang.

He shot her a mild look.

"That's not fair."

But she just glared right back.

He refused to relent.

Sighing, the girl allowed the ice cream to melt.

"Very well, Kisuke-san, but you had better answer my questions truthfully."

"Ask away!" He declared, between spoonfuls.

Haku sweatdropped.

This was gonna take awhile....

**Urahara Kisuke? What does his unforseen arrival mean for Naruto and crew? Will Gaara be safe? What is Aizen's ambition? Will Rukia be executed? Will the invasion occur? Will Momo recover? So many questions, so _many_ answers, next time on Fire and Brimstone!**


	18. Madness

Naruto didn't talk much for the next day or so, then the week leading up to the Chunin exams was also met with cold silence.

Anyone could tell that he was clearly in a funk, and unable to get out of it.

He distanced himself from anyone and _everyone_, and was only seen at the training grounds, working on his zanpaktou practice.

If you listened closely, amongst the explosions that signalled his attacks...

You could hear his sobs, his cries of misery.

"Why...

With every slash, every swing, more tears fell down his face. Everywhere he looked, he saw Byakuya Kuchiki, and his sneering, _laughing_ face, mocking him, jeering, _taunting_ him...

"Why?!"

Even though the Head of the Kuchiki family had never _once_ done those things, to Naruto, he was the very _embodiment_ of evil.

Another shunpo, another shattered tree.

"WHY THE HELL DID THIS HAPPEN?!"

Had the blond been in his right mind, he would have understood that Byakuya was simply following the path that he believed to be right, the path of justice. He meant no harm, and he _certainly_ did not wish for Naruto to be in such a stricken state.

But Naruto was _not _seeing clearly. His love for Rukia only _fueled_ his hate towards the proud shinigami, constantly stoking the embers of his roaring flame, and then pouring gasoline upon the flames, whenever they were about to die out, leaving his hate stronger than ever before.

He blamed him for everything.

Aizen's death, Rukia's kidnapping, Momo's refusal to come back to the living world...

_'He took my family!'_

For hours and hours on end, he worked at his skills, until he knew Senbonzakura inside and out, till he knew all that she could do and _more. _

Despite his madness, he was _never ever _cruel to his soul slayers.

Briefly, he allowed himself a small smile of pride, as her blossoms danced about him, then at his will, formed into a sword and shield, then an axe and mace, endless varieties of weapons, endless possibilities.

She was a _fine_ companion.

Sighing, he focused once again upon the matter at hand, frowning, as the blossoms shredded, hacked and slashed at a boulder, only _scratching_ it, not shattering it like he had the tree.

The speed was his...

But he had no power to back it up!

And so now he toiled endlessly with Zorro as well, determined to unlock the fullest secrets of his potential and power, no matter what the cost might be. If it meant getting stronger, then he was willing to do it.

Ironically, during this time he became quite close to Senbonzakura, or rather Zakura-chan, as he often called her when she visited him in physical form. Something that occurred more and more often everyday, as they were becoming quite attached to each other.

But that's another story for another time.

For now, let us focus on Naruto's current training regiment.

As of the moment, he was working on his latest trick.

A _double_ bankai.

And had he been thinking straight, he would have realized attempting such a thing was suicidal!

However, his desire for vengeance again blinded him to reason.

Pink light shroueded his arms, and then orange light mirrored atop it. The energies started at his fingertips, and from there, worked up to his shoulders.

It took great effort to keep the power suppressed, and his body _screamed _for release, even before he was shrouded in his aura.

_That_ was when things got nasty.

_Naruto! I can't take it anymore! I'm going to burst! _Cried Senbonzakura, as the ground buckled under the jinchuuriki's feet.

**_Listen to her boy! You're putting too much strain on your soul!_**

Even the Kyuubi pleaded with him to stop.

**Kit! This is madness! You'll kill us all!**

In his hands, the blades were glowing a blindingly bright white.

He called out:

"BANKAI!"

For one glorious moment, pure power, white hot and incredibly strong, flooded his veins.

He felt a wide smile grow tug his mouth upwards, as both Senbonzakura and zorro began to change into something else entirely, new forms of power alltogether-

Then everything _exploded_.

Yet, just before the fires consumed him...

He could have _sworn _he saw sand...

--

Haku dropped the sushi she was eating, as a _massive _explosion rocked the house.

Only one person could have done that.

"Naruto!"

Urahara cursed, in a rare moment of anger, all but bolting out of the easy chair in which he rested, flying out the door in a hustle

"That fool! He used a double bankai!"

--

They found him a heap, lying in a massive crater, that the explosion had created.

Haku wore a look of pure horror upon her face, as she saw his scarred limbs and blackened clothing..

"Naruto-kun!"

Urahara sighed, as he picked up the boy, running a keen eye over his unconcious form. "He got lucky. Something shielded him from most of the explosion."

He sported a few singe marks, but it was his _legs_ that had taken the brunt of the explosive burst. Smoke came off them, and his pants legs had been burned off to his knees.

His hands however, were seemingly mangled beyond repair. They clutched his zanpaktou in a death grip, and were stuck that way. No matter how they tried, his fingers would not move, as if rigor mortis had set in on the digits.

He was still breathing, but just _barely._

"Is...he alright?" Asked a voice, and this drew his attention aside.

Off to one side, stood Gaara, leaning against the shattered stump of a tree, panting heavily, sweat beading off her brow, and falling down to the scorched soil at her feet.

The blackened sand that rested under Naruto withdrew to her, and took the shape of a gourd upon her back, leaving perfectly untouched earth behind.

"I managed so shield him with my sand, but it was so sudden, I-

Urahara patted her on the head.

"You did great. Your probably the reason he's still alive."

Sighing, he looked down at Naruto.

"It's late. For now, lets just go home and get some sleep."

This boy was going to _kill_ himself at this rate.

"Oh, and one more thing." Both girls looked in his direction.

"After he wakes up, I need to let you three in on a secret...

"And that would be?" Asked Haku.

Urahara's eyes glinted steel, his words deep with ominous foreboding.

"How to break into the Gotei 13 of Sereitei."


	19. Descent into Darkness Prt 1

"What?!" Naruto all but squawked when Kisuke broke the news. "There's a way to save Rukia?!"

"Yes, but you will not like it." Warned Urahara. "I need to augment your powers first-

"Who cares?!" The teen declared, slapping both hands down on the table. "Even if the execution isn't for another two months, the Chunin exams are in two days, and I _need_ to get stronger!"

Haku sighed, and Gaara wore a look of sheer terror when the method was explained.

Even Naruto blanched a bit.

"Are you sure about this?"

"Do it." He whispered, scrunching his eyes tightly shut.

--

_"So, how are you feeling?"_

He rose and coughed harshly, holding his bandaged chest.

"Ugh, what happened...

_"You survived the first step."_ Replied the voice, "_If Haku hadn't treated your wounds, you might've died."_

He looked around and found himself in a field of flowers. He was leaning back against a sakura tree, and its petals were in full bloom, just waiting for the wind to blow them away. It was calm and serene, and he felt at peace here.

A wind blew, and the petals swirled about. They danced through the air, and were joined with a low whistling sound. Within a second, they took human shape and form, forming that of a young girl, whom Naruto knew all too well.

_"You've gotten stronger, Naruto." _She purred, cupping his face gently in her hands, then nuzzling her nose against his, and moving to embrace him tightly. She buried her head into his shoulder and murmured: _"I'm so proud of you."_

He laughed, but it hurt to do so.

"Heh, it was nothing."

_"You really are a hothead, nino."_ Chastised another voice.

The sound of footsteps, as Zorro sat down beside him. He looked like an older version of Naruto, yet he was different. His fingertips were clawed, and he had yellow fox ears on his head, with nothing where human ears should have been. He wore a long black kimono, and his eyes were a deep red.

_"The last step will be the worst." _Whispered Senbonzakura, pulling away to look pleadingly into his eyes. Her own pink orbs began to well up with unshed tears. _"If you fail, then it will all be over."_

_"Everything."_Emphasized Zorro, gently poking the blond in the forehead with one clawed fingertip.

_"It's starting..._

--

Naruto frowned as he held his growling stomach.

"Sorry , but ya got anything to eat?"

"But of course!"

Urahara's eyes strayed to the sword Naruto had lying with his things. _'As I thought, he's already achieved full synch with Senbonzakura, and even more so with Zorro. After all, that blade belonged to..._ He seemed to stare at the elegant blade for an eternity, before finally speaking.

He smiled lightly as he watched the boy chow down.

_'Eat up Naruto. This meal may be your last..._

--

Kisuke Urahara watched as the last link of the chain of fate crumbled and the hole opened up in Naruto's chest. Everything seemed still for an instant.

Urahara shut his eyes.

He knew what was coming.

An explosion of reaitsu came from the boy as a strange white substance began pouring out of his eyes, his nose, his mouth. He was in more pain than he had ever thought was even possible. Being hit with a thousand of Haku's senbon was _nothing_compared to this. The pressure on his body was incomprehensible. It felt like his body was suddenly three sizes too small for him, and was bursting at the seams trying to contain him. He barely felt the restraints that Tessai was using to hold his arms back shatter from the force of the reaitsu he was emitting.

Unknown to anyone else, inside of him...

A fierce battle was being raged.

--

The mindscape was fluctuating wildly, and everything began to sway. The physical incarnations of Zorro and Senbonzakura vanished, leaving only the zanpaktou behind.

_Here he comes, Naruto. _Warned Zorro.

_Stay strong. _Begged Senbonzakura. _Stay strong, for me...._

_"Hey there, king!"_

Naruto whirled about.

He was facing a pale version of himself. There were absolutely no flaws in the copy. It looked as if a tub of bleach had been dumped on the look alike, depriving him of all colors.

Except the eyes.

The sclera were pitch black, and the irises were a sickly pallid yellow.

The scary thing was...

He had two zanpaktou.

The exact same one's that he held.

"Who the hell're you?!"

_"Ain't it obvious?!" _Cackled the being._ "I AM you!"_

"No you're not! I'm me!"

A distorted laugh now.

_"Don't be stupid! We're the same person!"_

A sudden burst of flame, came hard and fast towards the blond, and caught him hard in the face. He stumbled back, rubbing his cheek. It had been singed, if only slightly, but it still hurt.

_"Scatter." _Declared the hollow, holding up the other zanpaktou-

_'But that's-_

**Kit, move! **Warned the Kyuubi, and it felt as if an invisible hand suddenly jerked his body hard to the right. Less than a second later, a wall of cherry blossoms tore up the ground were he had been.

_"Now, lets have some fun!"_

_--_

Outside of Naruto, the three figures on top of the shattered shaft were watching the scene unfolding below. "I have to help him!" Haku said this, and began to form hand seals-

"No" Urahara's response was firm. "Watch him closely, nothing more. Normally when a whole becomes a hollow, the spiritual body explodes, and then reforms. But in his case, the order is all mixed up. The mask is being created while the body is still a whole. There's still a strong possibility that in time he'll become a more powerful shinigami. If he really does turn into a hollow…" He let his voice trail off.

They all knew what that meant...

--

The hollow looked up now. They had each been cut up quite badly, a result of using Senbonzakura. However, Naruto was loathe to use bankai. If this thing could imitate shikai, then he didn't want to give it any more power.

_"Don't you get it, partner? I know all your moves! Bankai, shikai, there's no point! You can't fight yourself!"_

"I'll never accept you. NEVER!" He screamed! "You're everything I hate! I can't even bring myself to look at the likes of you!"The mindscape began to stabilize now, as Naruto's consciousness asserted itself more and more, driven by the urge to protect his friends. "I don't care about this king shit! This my mind, and you're not a part of it!"

_"Heh. Nice resolve." _complimented the hollow."But do y_ou think you stopped me?"_

A wild grin.

_"I'll go away, for now. But I still won't acknowledge you as the king! The moment you show any weakness, the moment you falter, complain or stray from your path, I'll drag you down and crush your skull!"_

Then came the flash of white.

_--_

Down in the pit, Gaara and Tessai were doing their best to hold the transforming Naruto, but it was no use. The raiatsu he was emitting was enough to break anything they tried. Just as Tessai was about to try the devastating Black Coffin, and Gaara her own Sand coffin, the pressure burst, and a streak of light burst from the pit.

The kickback of the explosion slammed them into the wall.

The bolt that was Naruto landed in a cloud of dust, and at first the three up top were unable to get a good look. The dust cleared and even Urahara seemed disturbed at the image presented.

It had Naruto's body, but an eerie mask over it. The mask was the shape of a humanoid skull with white with red markings along it.

A hand reached to the blades on his back, and everyone stiffened. However, the figure abruptly smashed the hilt into the mask on his face, and now pulled it away, revealing a human face.

"That was close...Breathed Naruto to himself, yanking the rest of it away, and then tossing it aside. His eyes were a slitted breath, but now returned to blue. An alliance had been made, deep within him.

Kisuke sighed in relief.

Both fox and human had recognized the hollow influence as a threat, and had thus worked together to fight.

That was the plan all along.

"Very good, very good. Now, for the third test."

He tilted his hat up.

"You should be able to fight on par with me now, I take it?"

At this, Naruto wore a gobsmacked expression.

"W-Wha?! All this so I could fight you?!"

"Of course!" Replied Urahara in a sing-song voice. "I'll even make it easier for you! Knock my hat off, and you win!"

"Oh, is that the case?"

Naruto didn't waste a second, and leapt at him.

Urahara slid a blade out of his cane, effortlessly blocking him. However, the ninja had planned this.

_'That's not a zanpaktou. He can't cut me with it!'_

"Chire!" He cried, and Senbonzakura scattered into a thousand petals, all of which now swirled around them.

Kisuke skidded back, only mildly scratched.

Naruto smirked.

"C'mon then, hat n' clogs! I'll kick your-

He blinked, as the remnants of the mask that hung on his face, was sliced away.

Kiskuke was now behind him

Under the green and white hat, Urahara's eyes narrowed. No longer the goofball, in his place was a focused captain of the Gotei 13, and there was an enemy before him. He brought his blade up in front of his face.

"You think this isn't a zanpaktou? That I can't cut you?"

The blade began to glow red.

"Okosu, Benihime (Wake up, Crimson Princess).

The blade glowed red as it transformed, the blade widening, the hilt gaining elaborate decorations. In an instant it was over, the shikai of the zampakuto emerging.

"This, is my zanpaktou."

Naruto paled, as the air shimmered with spiritual pressure.

"Now lets go, Benihime!"

"What have I created?" Urahara whispered to himself. This kind of fight was something that he would expect against an strong vice-captain, not a newly powered up soul reaper! Moving around to the Naruto's backside with Shunpo, he gathered as much reiryoku as he could without killing the boy. The blade glowed crimson and Naruto was given no chance to dodge.

"Utau, Benihime (Sing, Crimson Princess). A wave of red energy slammed into the blond from behind, and though senbonzakura was able to lessen it with her petals, it was still enough to send him staggering forward. Not giving the boy a chance to recover, Kisuke rushed forward, Benihime still aglow with crimson reiryoku, and slammed his zanpaktou into the wall of petals back with all the force he could muster. For the first time in the fight, Naruto cried out in pain.

He spun around to meet Urahara, who was having a much easier time of it now. His Shikai was actually able to deal damage, and the blasts of reiryoku he kept launching in the boy's face were certainly helping to keep the genin on the defensive a great deal more than earlier.

**Kit, move over.**

_What're you-_

So needless to say, he was surprised at what happened next.

Instead, Naruto suddenly went limp were he stood. Slowly, he held up his hand, gathering the index, middle, and ring fingers into a point, or as near a one as a human hand could make. Red energy swirled around the tips of the fingers.

_'Shit, he's making a Cero!'_Urahara thought, eyes wide at the power building up behind the cero. Three crimson trails of reiryoku gathered around the red orb, and although it was deadly, Urahara was a scientist and couldn't just turn off his brain. He watched, gears in his head turning, trying to process what he was seeing.

_'Ah, now I understand. He's using the fox using the three separate cero's, one from each finger, and concentrating them at the same spot, forcing them to blend together and create one large cero. Powerful technique to be sure. Fortunately, he can't control Naruto or his reiryoku well enough to put as much power into it as an arrancar would. Still, I'd better…'_

"Utau, Benihime" This time, instead of a red blast of reaitsu being _thrown_from the blade, it seemed to seep out, creating a shield in front of the blonde man. Just in time, as the cero blasted out from the fingers in a beam of red energy.

Much to his surprise, a Senbonzakura enhanced blast of fire came from behind the cero, doubling its size at the last second The cero struck the blood mist shield, and though the edges of it were eroded badly, the figure behind it was unharmed.

"Not bad. If I didn't have this blood mist shield, you would have taken an arm-

The smoke cleared, and the blond was holding both blades up. His eyes gleamed a glowing red.

"How about this?" He asked calmly, as the ground started to shake.

Haku looked on in awe.

Urahara raised Benihime, and she was again bathed in red light, her polished edge pulsing with power. This was going to be big, their energy levels finally peaked, and all the power went to their respective zanpaktou's.

The two took a step forward-

And swung!

Two crescent shaped attacks collided-

And a hat flew off.

Naruto fell to his knees, panting, then collapsed into the dirt. He still held the zanpaktou in a death grip.

Urahara stood over him.

Smiling.

"Test three, passed."

"Haha." Laughed the blond, "Told ya I could do it," just before he passed out...

_'He's strong. Who would've Aizen actually had a heart..._

Perhaps there was hope for this world yet...

--

Aizen stopped his pacing and sighed.

Staying hidden in Central 46, which still reeked of the fools blood was difficult.

Honestly, if anyone deserved death, it was the residents of central 46. Prejidous bastards that cared only for the law and dismissed their own comrades, their own flesh and blood-

This was the worst part of being a parent. Even though they were not related by blood, Sosuke had truly come to see the boy as his own son, even though that had honestly not been his intentions in the beginning. He hated leaving him like this, but it was for the best.

_"Just keep an eye on him." _Sarutobi had asked.

Urahara had doubtlessly told him about it.

The way to go to Sereitei.

"Soon Naruto, soon. It won't be much longer."

He put down the photo he held of him and the boy.

"I will take you away from this place," A small smile tugged at his lips. Yes, Naruto had become a part of his goal. No longer did he see this as a selfish ambition, he was doing this for his son as well. "Then you'll have the life you always wanted, the happiness you deserve."

A brief spasm of anger at the sereitei caused him to clench his hand into a fist. It was rare for him to show any real emotion, but if you threatened his Uzumaki Naruto, you threatened Sosuke Aizen.

Once he had the Hogyoku, those fools would feel his wrath.

When the time was right, he would strike with swifty justice.

"I'll make all those who hurt you...I will make them suffer."

**No, naruto is not a vizard yet! He just kept himself from being taken over! And you'll see the double bankai soon, but first, the chunin exams! Then the rescue of rukia, which is why i made it two months. The rescue will take place during the one month training period. And have i made aizen good or bad? **

**Meh, you'll see soon enough!**

**PLease read "I hate everything about you" its shirosaki-sama's latest fic, and its really got potential! Please read and review it!**

**REVIEW!**


	20. Descent into Darkness Prt 2

A piercing scream echoed through the forest of death, then...

Nothing.

"Che," Naruto snorted, as Senbonzakura's petals reformed into sword form, leaving three bloody corpses in their wake. Sheathing the sword, he wiped the rust of her shining edge, surveyed his surroundings, and finally nodded, reassured that there weren't any other 'surprises' waiting for them. "Serves em right for underestimating us."

The written test had been _cake_, he didn't even need to cheat, but he'd done so anyway, just to ensure Haku got a perfect score.

Now, on the second half of the exam...

A survival excercise was required.

Needless to say, it was a cakewalk, even if it was only just the two of them, thanks to Sarutobi pulling a few strings to get Haku qualified for the exam...

"Which scroll is it?" He peered at the parchment Haku had just picked up. "Heaven or earth?"

"Earth."

"Damnit." The jinchuuriki spit at the ground, fury contorting his features. "Not again!"

That is, if they could find the right scroll.

"No wait, its heaven!"

Haku's startled exclamation caused the zanpaktou user to whirl about in surprise.

"But didn't you just say-

"I did." The senbon user nodded, staring at the now white scroll in wonderment. "It just...changed."

_'A henge?'_ Naruto looked on in wonderment, but there was no illusionary jutsu to be found.

"Weird."

--

Entering the tournament hall, they could see the others already gathered, they were lined up by team, one teammate behind the other.

"Looks like everyone made it." Naruto muttered, eyeing squad ten warily, and waving to Hinata, who blushed and turned away at the gesture. Briefly, he locked eyes with Gaara, refusing to nod, even though a small part of him wanted to.

Naruto and Haku now stood someways to the left of behind Sakura who was behind Sasuke, the pinkette letting the 'Teme' take position of team leader as always.

But it was clear that the blond didn't want to be seen right now.

"First off, congratulations on passing the Second Phase of the Chunin Exam." A Jonin said. "We will now have an explanation of the Third Phase of the Chunin Selection Exam from our own Hokage, Everyone listen up, and listen well."

With those words the elderly Third Hokage walked forward to the edge of the raised platform, and coughing out some smoke from the pipe he'd been smoking, began to speak.

"The Third Exam will begin. But before the explanation, there's one thing I want to make clear to all of you." The Hokage said in a tone that required any decent person to pay attention, "It's about the true purpose of this exam. In other words, why we do a joint exam with the allied nations of this region of the world. 'To maintain good relations with the allied nations' and 'heighten the level of the ninja' were the reasons you have probably heard but do not let them deceive you. The 'exam', so to speak, is…"

The old man was obviously a lover of theatre as he took a moment to puff on his pipe a moment in order to build up the suspense a bit.

"…The epitome of a war between the allied nations." Third finished, leaving no mistake in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Tenten asked from her position behind Rock Lee.

"If we go back through history, the allied nations right now were neighboring countries that have fought each other over and over again. To avoid wasting military power, those countries decided to choose a place to fight." The Hokage replied as he explained his earlier statement, "That is the beginning of the Chunin Selection Exam."

Naruto sighed, he was bored the old man was droning on and on, and he couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"Why do we have to do that?" Naruto growled, clearly understanding everything beyond the surface meaning of what the Third had said and annoyed by the lengthy explanation, "We're _not_ doing this to select Chunin's?"

Sarutobi seeing the blonde's new attire and appearance, for the first time in a month, let his eyes widen, but due to years of experience he managed to hide it without anyone seeing his reaction and he used his pipe to gather himself before answering. _What are you playing at Naruto?_ He thought before speaking again.

"Yes, this Exam _does_ examine those who are worthy of the Chunin title. But, on the other hand, it's also a place where ninja fight and carry their country's dignity." Replied the Third Hokage.

"In this Third Exam, feudal lords and famous people from various countries who may be potential clients are invited here as guests. And feudal lords from countries with hidden villages and ninja leaders will see your battles. If there's a significant difference in power, the strong country will be flooded with jobs. If a country is seen as weak, their jobs will decrease. And at the same time, countries are able to show how their village has grown and possess excellent military power to the adjacent countries. In other words, they can put foreign pressure on them."

"So why do we have to fight with the risk of losing our lives?" a foreign nin asked, sounding like he didn't approve of being used in this manner.

"A country's power is the village's power. A village's power is the ninja's power." The Hokage replied promptly, "And a ninja's true power is only born in life-or-death battle. This Exam is also a place to show off the ninja power of one's country. Since this is an exam where you fight with your life on the line, it has a meaning and your predecessors have fought and dreamed of being in the Chunin Exam because of it."

"But why do you say it's used to promote good relations?" Tenten asked, clearly a bit uneasy about not being told all this beforehand.

"I told you at the beginning to not get it confused with that. The custom of saving one's life and fighting to maintain balance… that is the good relation in the world of the ninja." The Hokage said, sounding a bit irritated that one Konoha ninja was still thinking what they'd been told earlier was important, "This is a life-or-death battle for your dream and the village's dignity."

A silence fell over the room as the gathered Genin soaked in what the Third Hokage of Konoha had just told them.

Naruto blew out a breath of air, clearly anxious to get started.

Haku wanted to say something, but something in the back of her mind told her to keep her mouth shut this time.

Hugging her midsection she kept her head down and pouted. _Come on, get this over with. I...really just want this to end. _The former mist shinobi thought to herself. She hated the feelings she was experiencing and the looks a lot of the male genin in the room kept shooting her.

Not to mention the eerie killer intent Naruto seemed to be radiating.

"I don't care." Said Gaara, trying her best to maintain her previous personality, for the sake of preventing any suspicions."Tell us the details of this life-or-death exam."

"Then I will now begin the explanation of the Third Exam, but…" The Third said but before he could go further one of the ninja who had been standing behind him appeared kneeling before him.

"Excuse me, Lord Hokage" Said the long haired ninja who wore his forehead protector like a bandana, "I, Gekkou Hayate, the judge, will explain."

"Please do." The Hokage said, not sounding bothered in the least at being interrupted.

"Everyone, it's nice to meet you." Hayate said stoically before having a slight coughing fit and turning halfway to look at them, "Everyone, before the Third Phase of the Exam, (cough-cough) there's something I want you to do. Fight in some preliminary matches to see who gets to advance to the Third Phase's main fights."

"Preliminary matches? What do you mean?" Asked Shikamaru, sounding like he was something _other_ than annoyed like usual.

"Instructor-sama, I don't understand what you mean by preliminary matches." Sakura said in a more respectful manner than Shikamaru from Team 10, "Why can't we just start the Third Phase of the Exam with the remaining examinees?"

"In this case, it must have been because the First and Second Phases of the Exam were too easy, I don't know…" Hayate replied with a sigh as he spoke, "But there are too many examinees left. According to Chunin Exam regulations, we must decrease the number of participants before we can proceed with the main matches of the Third Phase of the Exam. As previously mentioned by Lord Hokage, there are many guests for the Third Phase of the Exam, so we cannot just have a lot of matches."

Muttering from the gathered genin at this.

"We are limited on time as well. So those that aren't feeling well…" Hayate said before getting stuck in a coughing fit for a few seconds, "Excuse me. If anyone wants to quit after hearing the explanation, please let me know. The preliminary matches will begin immediately."

This was not met with much approval from those teams who had only arrived today or yesterday, since they were still in the process of recovering from the exertion of making it to the Tower.

"I forgot to mention this, but you will have one-on-one matches from here on out." Hayate said, sounding a little embarrassed at forgetting such an important fact, "So please withdraw if you wish."

Sakura looked over her shoulder.

She saw movement out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Sasuke wincing and putting his hand over the place where Orochimaru had bitten him.

_We're in no shape for this. I should tell the proctor..._

"We should pull out." Sakura said whispering only to have the Uchiha snarl at her. "I will not lose. Keep your damn mouth shut and mind your own damn business."

Sakura wanted to hit him, but restrained herself. She was about to bring the bite to the attention to the Hokage and gathered Jonin on the raised platform when the Genin they'd met in the classroom, Kabuto, raised his hand.

"I'll quit." He said with a soft smile.

This caused a whisper fest among the other examinees since the glasses wearing Konoha Genin didn't seem to be all that banged up, the guy looked completely unharmed, which made his quitting the exam puzzling to the others.

"Let's see…You are Konoha's Yakushi Kabuto?" Hayate asked as he looked through the clipboard of info he had in his hand, "You may leave, then."

"Kabuto-san, why are you quitting?!" one of his teammates asked, clearly showing that he didn't understand.

"I'm sorry, but my body is completely worn out already from the forest, and we'd just gotten here." Kabuto replied from his place on the edge of the assembled Genin, "I doubt I'll be able to put up much of a fight in the next Phase, so I'd rather not embarrass myself by continuing."

After saying a few hushed things with his teammates, words that were definitely not friendly even though no one couldn't make them out clearly, Kabuto exited the room. Naruto stared after him with a small frown.

With a cough, it sounded like Hayate was about to resume his work as judge for this Phase of the Chunin Exam.

"May I assume that there are no more people who wish to withdraw?" Examiner Gekkou asked letting his eyes pass over the remaining Genin.

This led to Sakura once again trying to raise her hand to draw attention to Sasuke's cursed seal, but her efforts were stopped more forcefully this time as Sasuke clamped down hard on the hand she was intending to use.

"Don't you fucking dare." Sasuke hissed.

Naruto meanwhile, paused as he mentally considered who amongst the assembled genin was the greatest threat.. He didn't really see the need, nor the reason to hold back against anyone, and though Gaara immediately came to mind, he was loathe to go up against her, mostly because they'd only just become friends.

The same went for Hinata.

_Well... I guess I shouldn't hurt Hinata either, but I doubt I'll end up fighting her...._

"Then, let's begin the preliminary matches." Hayate said, clearly ignoring the conflict occurring in Team 7, "It will be a one-on-one match. In other words, it will be like real combat. Now that we have exactly twenty people, we will have ten matches and the winners will be able to advance to the main part of the Third Phase of the Chunin Exam. There are no rules. You will fight until the other person dies, is knocked out or admits defeat. If you don't want to die, please give up immediately."

Several people looked nervous again.

"However, if I judge that the match is over…(cough)…I may stop you to prevent any unnecessary deaths." Hayate said, making everyone wonder why the guy wasn't in a hospital, "The thing that will determine the match ups will be this."

As the Examiner spoke those words, one of the panels on the scoreboard that was built into the wall was pulled up to reveal an electronic bulletin board.

"This electronic bulletin board will randomly display the names of the two fighters for each match." Hayate said in his usual stoic manner, "Without further delay, I will now display the names for the first match."

Looking up at the bulletin board, they watched as the names, went by at a rapid pace and Nartuo wondered if it would be his name that appeared. It was soon revealed that Fate had a different member of Team 7 in mind when it determined the match up for the first battle.

Akadou Yoroi VS Uchiha Sasuke.

"Those whose names were displayed, step up." Hayate said with his hands behind his back, "The first match's fighters are Akadou Yoroi and Uchiha Sasuke. Are there any objections?"

Neither fighter stated that he had an issue with the match up.  
"We will now begin the first match." Hayate said before coughing a bit, "Everyone other than the two fighters, please move up there."

With his left arm the man indicated the balconies that existed on either side of the room about fifteen to twenty feet off the ground.

Without further delay, all the Genin as well as the Chunin and Jonin present began to go to one of the balconies in question with those from Konoha noticeably sticking closer to the people they knew. The balcony on the right side of the room soon held Team 0, Team 8, Team 10, Team 9 and Team 7 with Sakura dragging her feet, clearly exhausted. The balcony on the left side of the room had only the Sand ninjas but from the looks on their faces they didn't mind having it nearly all to themselves.

Kabuto's other teammate and the Sound team were further down from them near the other set of stairs.

The fight took a few minutes, but Naruto was slightly annoyed by the outcome, Sasuke's victory.

_'Figured as much..._

The screen again scrolled the names, and the blond yawned in irritation, still waiting for his turn...

Hinata Hyuuga vs Neji Hyuuga.

_'Oh shit!'_

Blue eyes snapped open at the declaration, his gaze flying to Hinata, who looked absolutely terrified.

Neji showed no reaction whatsoever, aside from a small tightening at the corners of his eyes.

"Are there any objections to this match?" Hayate coughed into his fist once more.

"I object." Naruto muttered immediately, just loud enough to be heard, and earning a surprised stare from everyone. True, he knew he was certainly out of line by saying this, but there was no way, not even the _slightest_ of chances, that Hinata stood a chance against Neji.

"Hold it!" someone roughly shoved Naruto aside, and the blond turned to avoid the blow.

It was none other than Kiba, Hinata's teammate.

Hinata flushed scarlet as her teammate fixed Neji with a glare.

"I'll take him."

"K-Kiba-san!"

The Inuzuka looked over his shoulder smirked in response.

"Don't even think about it, Hinata."

Returning his gaze to Neji, Kiba's eyes narrowed to feral slits, clacking the sharp points of his fingernails together, whilst Akamaru barked an affirmative.

"He's _mine_."

**Next time: Kiba vs Neji.**


End file.
